Hypoxia and Medicine

is a PEG tube permanent? pt had acute hypoxia due to copd but is off of the vent now and has a trach 63yo?

Public Comments

1. No it isn't permanent.
2. Depending if the patient is able so swallow without getting food into the lungs. If so, the PEG tube can be removed. Usually, in acute illness, one is too weak to swallow, if this persists over a longer time, a PEG tube is more patient friendly than a feeding tube through the nose into the stomach. Also COPD patients have a lot of muscle wasting, partly due to the great exertion needed just to breath, partly due to all kinds of chemicals they make such as TNF (tumor necrotising factor), so have no reserves to cope with acute problems.