A percutaneous gastrostomy can be placed either endoscopically (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, PEG) or radiologically (radiologically-inserted gastrostomy, RIG). However, there is no consistent evidence of the safety and efficacy of PEG compared to RIG. Recently, 30-day mortality has become considered as the most important surrogate index for evaluating the safety and efficacy of percutaneous gastrostomy. The aim of this meta-analysis was to compare the 30-day mortality rates between PEG and RIG.

Major electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane library) were queried for comparative studies on the two insertion techniques of gastrostomy among adults with swallowing disturbance. The primary outcome was the 30-day mortality rate after gastrostomy insertion. Forest and funnel plots were generated for outcomes using STATA version 14.0.

Fifteen studies (n=2,183) met the inclusion criteria. PEG was associated with a lower risk of 30-day mortality after tube placement compared with RIG (odds ratio, 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.38–0.94; P =0.026). The pooled prevalence of 30-day mortality of PEG was 5.5% (95% CI, 4.0%–6.9%) and that of RIG was 10.5% (95% CI, 6.8%–14.3%). No publication bias was noted.

The present meta-analysis demonstrated that PEG is associated with a lower probability of 30-day mortality compared to RIG, suggesting that PEG should be considered as the first choice for long-term enteral tube feeding. Further prospective randomized studies are needed to evaluate and compare the safety of these two different methods of gastrostomy.