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Over 4.5 million people in North America had a diagnosis of dementia in the year 2000, and more than half had advanced disease with potential aspiration risk. There is much controversy regarding the use and timing of enteral feeding support in these patients with dysphagia. The management of dysphagia is far more complex when considering quality of life, “comfort care” hand feeding, the use of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube (PEG), and associated mortality rates. This study seeks to critically review the literature that evaluates PEG placement in this population.

A systematic literature review of PubMed, from 1995–2012, was conducted to identify studies relating to PEG placement in dementia patients with dysphagia. The principal outcomes and related survival rates for this population were compared.

In total, 100 articles were identified in the search. Of these, ten met the …