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To the Editor: In their discussion of gastrostomy tube (GT) feeding of patients with advanced dementia, Dr Finucane and colleagues¹ present clinical consequences of GT feeding separately from the ethical issues surrounding it. They conclude that GT feeding does not improve survival or maintain quality of life of these patients. However, the absence of evidence for the effectiveness of GT feeding to prolong life in such patients does not refute the possibility that such benefit indeed exists.

Nobody can survive without nutrition for long. Finucane et al might have balanced the mortality arising from GT feeding against the benefit of nutrient support provided by the feeding. Although patients who are provided GT feeding may survive for years, only a few weeks of life can be expected for patients without any oral intake. In addition, better data are needed to prove that the quality of life of patients dependent on GT . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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RELATED ARTICLE

Tube Feeding in Patients With Advanced Dementia: A Review of the Evidence
Thomas E. Finucane, Colleen Christmas, and Kathy Travis
JAMA. 1999;282(14):1365-1370.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT