Tube feeding patients with advanced dementia does not prolong life or improve its quality and can actually shorten the life of some patients.
In an analysis and comment article, Hoffer reminds us that elderly patients who eat very little are usually not starving but have low energy requirements and exist in a state of metabolic homeostasis.
Good practice comprises regularly weighing patients to be sure that weight loss is not life threatening and paying attention to the quality, characteristics, and presentation of their food.
Report published in British Medical Journal.