title: Dietitians' role in decisions to withhold nutrition and hydration.
abstract: Decisions to limit nutrition and hydration in irreversibly or terminally ill patients are becoming more frequent in both hospitals and home-care settings. Although clear-cut principles or rules are not always possible, appropriate decisions about any form of life-sustaining treatment, nutrition and hydration included, require conducting a productive moral conversation within the medical management team and/or the institutional ethics committee. In this article, we discuss how dietitians can participate in these medical decisions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Practice, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824-1313.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brody
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Noel
mesh_terms: D004046:Dietetics / Q000592:standards*; D004750:Enteral Nutrition; D004989:Ethics; D005066:Euthanasia, Passive / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005440:Fluid Therapy; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008020:Life Support Care; D010288:Parenteral Nutrition; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013727:Terminal Care; D028761:Withholding Treatment