“Change can come slowly in medicine, but it does come. In 2013, the American Geriatrics Society updated its recommendations against feeding tubes for older patients with advanced dementia. The Choosing Wisely campaign, which publishes lists of procedures and tests that patients and families should question, and the Alzheimer’s Associationhave taken similar positions.
“Now, families and physicians seem to have gotten the sorrowful message: Dementia is a terminal disease. Eating and swallowing problems eventually plague almost everyone who has it. Feeding tubes don’t help. In fact, they can make matters worse.”
Click here for the NYT article.
There are a number of other things that seem interfere and even worsen the care and comfort of patients with dementia: transfer to an ER or hospital, needle sticks, any restraints, room change, etc. So often less intervention may be better care.