Table 2.
Clinical outcomes of later gastrostomy timing groups compared with prophylactic placement as the reference (propensity-score–matched analyses).
| Outcome | Prophylactic vs. early-reactive (15–90 d) | Prophylactic vs. late-reactive (91–180 d) | Prophylactic vs. very-late (>180 d) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 y | 2–5 y | 1–2 y | 2–5 y | 1–2 y | 2–5 y | |
| Malnutrition, RR (95% CI) | 1.15 (0.95–1.39) | 1.07 (0.88–1.30) | 1.69 (1.33–2.13) * | 1.00 (0.47–2.15) | 1.39 (0.94–2.07) | 1.24 (0.83–1.87) |
| Gastrostomy (PEG) complications, RR (95% CI) | 1.06 (0.81–1.40) | 1.01 (0.74–1.39) | 1.39 (0.94–2.06) | 1.27 (0.58–2.79) | 1.75 (1.19–2.57) * | 2.00 (1.29–3.11) * |
| Aspiration pneumonia, RR (95% CI) | 1.24 (0.93–1.64) | 1.01 (0.76–1.34) | 1.83 (1.29–2.59) * | – | 1.91 (1.14–3.19) * | 1.25 (0.73–2.13) |
| ED visits, mean no.† | 2.26 vs. 2.06 | 2.99 vs. 2.81 | 2.27 vs. 2.17 | 3.64 vs. 2.79 | 1.86 vs. 1.99 | 2.49 vs. 2.76 |
| Serum albumin, g/dL‡ | 3.77 vs. 3.80 | 3.73 vs. 3.76 | 3.51 vs. 3.64 * | 3.94 vs. 4.15 * | 3.70 vs. 3.89 * | 3.73 vs. 3.87 |
| BMI, kg/m2‡ | 24.7 vs. 24.5 | 25.3 vs. 25.2 | 23.7 vs. 24.4 | 26.3 vs. 26.4 | 24.5 vs. 24.8 | 24.4 vs. 25.3 |
Each comparison is an independent 1:1 propensity-score–matched analysis of one timing group versus prophylactic (±14 days) placement [matched n per group: early-reactive 2,916 (1–2 y)/3,012 (2–5 y); late-reactive 1,137/1,134; very-late 2,251/2,251]. Binary outcomes (malnutrition, gastrostomy complications, aspiration pneumonia) are reported as risk ratios (RR), prophylactic placement as the reference; RR >1.0 indicates a higher rate in the later timing group. * = 95% CI excludes 1.0, or p < 0.05 for continuous outcomes. †ED visits are the mean number of visits among patients with ≥1 visit (later timing group vs. prophylactic); no comparison was significant. ‡Serum albumin and BMI are group means (later timing group vs. prophylactic). “–” denotes events below the platform reporting threshold. BMI, body mass index; CI, confidence interval; ED, emergency department; PEG, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy; RR, risk ratio. Bold values indicate statistically significant comparisons (95% CI excluding 1.0, or p < 0.05 for continuous outcomes).