title: [Ethical and clinical decisions on artificial hydration and feeding via tube in the terminally ill].
abstract: Tube feeding is a widely used medical treatment for providing nutrition to terminally ill patients. Long term nutritional support in these patients or patients with irreversible neurological deterioration create a host of ethical and legal conflicts with difficult solutions. This work looks at the cultural and ethical-legal basis of these decisions and gives simple suggestions that might help the health care provider in making a viable clinical decision. However, each case should be treated in an individualized manner taking into consideration the rights and desires of each patient and their families.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Dr. Moliner, Valencia, España. hortelano_ele@gva.es
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Hortelano Martínez
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Azulay Tapiero
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castillo Blasco
mesh_terms: D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D003657:Decision Making; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D018529:Nutritional Support / Q000941:ethics*; D010288:Parenteral Nutrition / Q000941:ethics*; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000941:ethics* / Q000379:methods; D019452:Terminally Ill