New model for predicting surgical feeding tube placement in patients with an acute stroke event.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The need for surgical feeding tube placement after acute stroke can be uncertain and associated with further morbidity. METHODS Retrospective data were recorded and compared across patients with acute ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage. We identified all feeding tubes placed as percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tubes. A prediction score for PEG tube placement was developed separately for patients with acute ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage using logistic regression models of variables known by 24 hours from admission. RESULTS Of 407 patients included, 51 (12.5%) underwent PEG tube placement (25 acute ischemic stroke and 26 intracerebral hemorrhage). The odds of a patient with acute ischemic stroke with PEG score ≥3 of getting a PEG are greater than those with PEG score <3 (odds ratio, 15.68; 95% confidence interval, 4.55-54.01). The odds of a patient with intracerebral hemorrhage with PEG score ≥3 of getting a PEG are greater than those with PEG score <3 (odds ratio, 12.49; 95% confidence interval, 1.54-101.29). CONCLUSIONS The PEG score, comprised by variables known within the first day of admission, may be a powerful predictor of PEG placement in patients with acute stroke.