Nursing management of patients receiving gastrostomy feeding.

A feeding gastrostomy should be considered for patients who require enteral tube feeding for more than 2 weeks. This article describes three types of gastrostomy: percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy; replacement/surgically placed gastrostomy; and skin level/button gastrostomy. The choice of tube and method of insertion are governed by the patient's clinical condition and lifestyle. General guidelines on the decision to initiate gastrostomy feeding are given, together with indications, insertion and nursing management for each tube.