Length of Stay and Hospital Cost Reductions After Implementing Bedside Percutaneous Ultrasound Gastrostomy (PUG) in a Critical Care Unit

Background: Critical care patients receive 50% of gastrostomy tubes placed in the United States. Several gastrostomy placement methods exist, however care processes remain variable and often lack health system cost effectiveness. No data exists on efficiency or cost impact of performing bedside percutaneous ultrasound gastrostomy (PUG) on patients with ventilator-dependent respiratory failure. This study's objective was to determine if implementing bedside PUG would positively impact efficiency and cost outcomes in intensive care unit (ICU) patients compared to usual care gastrostomy. Design and Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients with ventilator-dependent respiratory failure who received a gastrostomy consult or procedure in the ICU. Patients received PUG or usual care gastrostomy, determined by the presiding attending's skillset, and both groups were compared across patients' demographics, clinical characteristics and outcomes. Primary outcomes were length of stay (LOS) and total hospital costs. Results: A total of 88 patients were included in the analysis, 45 patients in the PUG group and 43 in the usual care gastrostomy group. No differences were observed in demographic and clinical characteristics. Patients who received PUG had a significantly shorter mean ICULOS and hospital LOS, with reductions of 5.0 and 8.7 days, respectively. Total hospital costs were significantly reduced in the PUG group, with a cost savings of US $26,621 per patient. No differences in mortality or discharge disposition were observed. PUG patients received concomitant percutaneous dilatation tracheostomy (PDT) and PUG ("TPUG") 70% of the time, whereas no usual care patients received concomitant procedures. Off-hour procedures occurred in 53.3% of PUG and 4.6% of usual care gastrostomy. Conclusions: This study demonstrates bedside PUG leads to decreased LOS and total hospital costs in patients with ventilator-dependent respiratory failure. Hospital costs were significantly reduced with a per patient savings of $26,621 compared to usual care gastrostomy.