Minority race and male sex as risk factors for non-beneficial gastrostomy tube placements after stroke

BackgroundPercutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tubes are widely used for enteral feeding after stroke; however, PEG tubes placed in patients in whom death is imminent are considered non-beneficial.AimWe sought to determine whether placement of non-beneficial PEG tubes differs by race and sex.Design and setting/participantsIn this retrospective cohort study, inpatient admissions for stroke patients who underwent palliative/withdrawal of care, were discharged to hospice, or died during the hospitalization, were identified from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample between 2007 and 2011. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between race and sex with PEG placement.ResultsOf 36,109 stroke admissions who underwent palliative/withdrawal of care, were discharge to hospice, or experienced in-hospital death, a PEG was placed in 2,258 (6.3%). Among PEG recipients 41.1% were of a race other than white, while only 22.0% of patients without PEG were of a minority race (pConclusionMinority race and male sex are risk factors for non-beneficial PEG tube placements after stroke.