Predictive factors for prognosis following unsedated percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in ALS patients

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to determine the prognostic factors and the values that predict survival after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the correlations for 97 consecutive patients with ALS between clinical parameters and survival following PEG tube placement using the log‐rank test and Cox proportional‐hazards models. Results: The log‐rank test showed that an arterial carbon dioxide pressure (PaCO₂) of ≤ 40 mmHg (P = 0.0054), a forced vital capacity (FVC) of ≥ 38% of predicted (P = 0.0003), and bulbar‐onset (P = 0.0121) were significantly associated with better post‐PEG survival. Multivariate analysis showed that the FVC and PaCO₂ were associated with better post‐PEG survival (P = 0.0081 and P = 0.0265, respectively). Conclusions: PEG tube placement in ALS is recommended when FVC is ≥ 38% of predicted and when PaCO₂ is normal. Muscle Nerve 54: 277–283, 2016