What is PEG Feeding?
Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) feeding is a procedure that provides nutrition and hydration to patients who are unable to take food orally due to difficulty with swallowing or other medical complications. This type of feeding involves inserting a thin, flexible tube through the abdominal wall into the stomach. This can be performed by nurses in specialized care services like Aeon Nursing, who provide complex care services.
The PEG tube is designed to give continuous access to the stomach for nutrition and fluids, as well as medications if required. The type of tube used will depend on individual patient needs and requirements but generally speaking, these tubes can remain in place for an extended period of time, continually providing nutritional and medication support for those individuals who are unable to swallow or process food sufficiently.
Difficulties Faced By Patients With PEG Feeding
There are several difficulties that patients may face when using PEG feeding including infection, discomfort or pain during insertion or removal of the tube, risk of choking or aspiration due to vomiting caused by tube misplacement or obstruction, and issues related to the management of the fluids being delivered through the tube such as incorrect administration rate or incorrect volume being delivered. Additionally, patients may also experience psychological distress associated with having a foreign object in their body for extended periods of time.
