Welcome to Ethics Consult -- an opportunity to discuss, debate (respectfully), and learn together. We select an ethical dilemma in patient care, you vote, and then we present an expert's judgment.

Geraldine was 84 when her daughter Linda moved her into a Alzheimer’s unit five years ago. Geraldine’s dementia progressed and she became bedfast and totally dependent on her caregivers. She ...

A gastrostomy tube, or “G-tube,” provides access for long-term enteral nutrition in patients who are unable to eat. Gastrostomy tubes may be required in patients with cancer, stroke, traumatic brain ...

Although several guidelines now recommend against the use of feeding tubes in patients with advanced dementia, the type of physician attending those patients may determine whether current ...

American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.) Based on current scientific literature, gastrostomy tube placement or other long-term enteral access devices should be withheld or ...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Whether or not a person with advanced dementia winds up with a feeding tube inserted down their throat may have more to do with economic concerns than his or her wishes, ...

"Putting a feeding tube in my mother was the worst decision we ever made. I will not make that mistake with my father." The speaker's father had a Living Will stating that he did not want a feeding ...

Nasogastric Tube (NG): An NG tube passes through the nose, down the throat and esophagus and ends in the stomach. Sometimes the doctor will decide that it’s safer to give nutrition past the stomach, ...