Artificial nutrition through tube feeding is not unusual among persons with end stage dementia. It is estimated that about one-third of nursing home residents with advanced dementia are tube fed. This occurs even though the cited benefits of use; prolonging life, preventing aspiration, healing pressure ulcers, and providing comfort, do not appear to be supported by available evidence.The decision to place a feeding tube frequently occurs in an acute care setting and is made by a health care team that has not had a long standing relationship with the patient and family. Recommendations by the team are then often based on a "snapshot" of the patient so that appropriate medical decision-making is more challenging.
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