Although
muscular dystrophy patients often have feeding difficulty and need long-term
enteral nutrition, only a few reports have described
gastrostomy feeding in these patients. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of
gastrostomy feeding in patients with
muscular dystrophy. We performed a retrospective, multicenter study on 144 patients with
muscular dystrophy who received
gastrostomy feeding between 2007 and 2009 in 25 neuromuscular centers in Japan. There were 77
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (median age at
gastrostomy placement 26 years, range 13-47 years), 40
myotonic dystrophy (median age 54.5 years, range 13-70 years), 11
Fukuyama congenital muscular dystrophy (median age 22 years, range 13-29 years), 5
limb girdle muscular dystrophy (median age 62 years, range 43-78 years), and 5
facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (median age 52 years, range 28-67 years) patients. Many benefits including amelioration of
malnutrition, swallowing difficulty and respiratory status were observed after the introduction of
gastrostomy feeding. Especially in patients with
Duchenne muscular dystrophy, mean
body weight significantly increased after
gastrostomy placement. Although most complications, which are commonly observed in other populations, were tolerable,
respiratory failure and
peritonitis were important concerns. These findings suggest that
gastrostomy placement at an appropriate time is advisable in patients with
muscular dystrophy.