Table 1.
Baseline patient characteristics n (%)
| PEG/VP (n = 7) | Control (n = 48) | P value | |
| Age (yr) | 55.3 ± 12.3 | 61.0 ± 16.6 | 0.387 |
| Sex (M/F) | 5/2 | 31/17 | 1.000 |
| Primary diagnosis | 0.897 | ||
| Cerebrovascular disease | 7 (100) | 36 (75) | |
| Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis | 4 (8.3) | ||
| Hypoxic brain damage | 2 (4.2) | ||
| Parkinson’s disease | 2 (4.2) | ||
| Malignancy | 2 (4.2) | ||
| Aspiration pneumonia | 1 (2.1) | ||
| Pharyngeal paralysis | 1 (2.1) | ||
| Diabetes mellitus | 2 (28.6) | 10 (20.8) | 0.639 |
| Tracheostomy | 6 (85.7) | 25 (52.1) | 0.122 |
| Mean number of PEG placements | 1.3 ± 0.5 | 1.6 ± 1.1 | 0.459 |
| Charlson’s index score | 3.0 ± 1.6 | 3.5 ± 1.9 | 0.504 |
PEG: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy; VP: Ventriculoperitoneal; PEG/VP: Patients with PEG tubes and VP shunts; Control: Patients with PEG tubes alone.