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A patient with Alzheimer’s disease, fed via percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, with personal reflections on some of the ethical issues arising from this case
Author(s) -
Barratt J.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of human nutrition and dietetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.951
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1365-277X
pISSN - 0952-3871
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-277x.2000.00211.x
Subject(s) - medicine , dysphagia , percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy , dementia , gastrostomy , disease , parenteral nutrition , enteral administration , intensive care medicine , general surgery , surgery , peg ratio , economics , finance
Dementia is a common condition which is often complicated by difficulties with eating and drinking, including dysphagia. This case study describes the management of the dysphagia of an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s disease and her eventual feeding via percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy. Some of the ethical issues arising from the case are discussed, including enteral nutrition in dementia care, resource allocation and the consequences of not using nonoral feeding to manage dysphagia.