Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) was first introduced in 1980 as an alternative to laparotomy for surgical placement of feeding tubes. This procedure has profoundly impacted nutritional management, particularly in patients unable to maintain sufficient oral intake. PEGs have become the worldwide standard for direct gastric access and caring for patients with a PEG have been incorporated into the practice of nurses in most gastroenterology settings, both adult and pediatric. A recent study reports, more than 200,000 PEGs are placed annually in the United States. This represents an increase of 77,000 annual PEG tube placements from 1995, indicating the low-risk, beneficial aspects of the PEG tube placement procedure. This presentation will provide a review of PEG placement procedures including the nurse's role, and discuss indications and contraindications for PEG placement, potential problems related to PEGs, proper nursing care of the PEG site, feeding precautions, and patient teaching related to the care of PEGs. It is important for nurses, whether they are in a gastroenterology setting or on units or floors, to be able to properly care for and educate patients who will be receiving or already have a PEG tube in place.

Section Description

We are pleased to present the abstracts from sgna's 36th annual course, SGNA: your gateway to opportunity. The diversity of these topics certainly reflects the richness and breadth of our specialty. in keeping with the tradition of the annual course, we hope the following abstracts will encourage discussions for improving nursing practice and patient care outcomes.