A novel ballooned-tip percutaneous endoscopic gastrojejunostomy tube: A pilot study

Background: The tip of currently available percutaneous endoscopic gastrojejunostomy (PEGJ) tubes frequently migrates back into the stomach. Objective: To study the safety of a novel, ballooned-tip, PEGJ tube and assess the risk of retrograde migration into the stomach within 3 weeks of placement. Design: Prospective clinical study (NCT01551095). Setting: Tertiary-care center. Patients: Seven patients who required post-pyloric feeding were included. Intervention: Placement of PEGJ feeding tubes. Main Outcome Measurements: Position of the PEGJ, abdominal radiograph findings, adverse events. Results: Seven patients underwent placement of self-propelled PEGJ tubes during the study period. Technical success was achieved in all patients (100%). All procedures were rated as technically simple, and jejunostomy tubes were placed in <5 minutes during all procedures. Abdominal radiographs showed that the jejunostomy tubes were in the jejunum in all 7 patients at both 1 and 3 weeks after tube placement. Limitations: Small number of patients and short follow-up. Conclusion: Ballooned-tip PEGJ feeding tubes were safe and easy to place. The presence of the balloon prevented migration into the stomach. Ballooned-tip PEGJ tubes have the potential to eliminate the need for hospital readmission and repeat endoscopies for retrograde tube migration, and this may result in large systemic cost savings.