A two-center study identified factors linked to poorer survival after gastrostomy in ALS
Original source
Poor Prognostic Factors After Gastrostomy in Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Two-Center Retrospective Cohort Study. (opens in a new tab)Compass summarised this from the study's abstract.
Study details
- Studied in
- Human
Population inferred from the title and abstract by Compass.
People with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who had lower respiratory function or a shorter disease duration when they received percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) had worse outcomes afterward. Male sex and spinal-onset disease were also independently associated with poorer outcomes. The study identified cutoffs of forced vital capacity below 63% and disease duration under 12 months.
Why this matters
These findings may help clinicians assess prognosis when discussing PEG with people with ALS. They do not show that PEG causes poorer outcomes, or that changing the timing of PEG improves survival or other outcomes.
Limitations and context
This was a retrospective cohort study of 117 people at two centers who had PEG before tracheostomy, covering 2011 to 2023. The findings are associations, not proof of cause and effect, and may not apply to all people with ALS. Further studies would be needed to confirm the cutoff values and determine whether they can guide PEG timing or treatment decisions.