Trends in Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Placement in the Elderly From 1993 to 2003

OBJECTIVES: To investigate national trends in percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement for hospitalized elderly patients from 1993 to 2003. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of patients ≥ 65 years of age with PEG tube placement from 1993 to 2003 from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database was utilized to calculate PEG placement rates per 1000 people. RESULTS: Placement of PEG tube increased by 38% in elderly patients during the study period, from 2.71 procedures during hospitalization per 1000 people to 3.75 procedures during hospitalization per 1,000 people. Placement of PEG tube in patients with Alzheimer's dementia doubled (5%-10%) over the study period. CONCLUSION: Over a 10-year period, PEG tube use in hospitalized elderly patients increased significantly. More importantly, approximately 1 in 10 PEG tube placements occurred in patients with dementia.