title: Eating-derived pleasure in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as a predictor of non-oral feeding.
abstract: Our objective was to examine the pleasure derived from eating in patients with advanced ALS and how this affects advice to have a gastrostomy. Patients with advanced ALS completed a visual analogue scale indicating the pleasure they derived from eating. Data were also collected on the severity of swallow using the Hillel scale, the independent feeding status, and on whether gastrostomy was accepted or not. The findings from 38 consecutive patients indicate that pleasure derived from eating is a powerful indicator of a person's acceptance of gastrostomy. In conclusion, the study showed that a simple analogue scale is quick and practical in a clinical setting even in severely compromised people with ALS and that the eating pleasure score was a strong predictor of the final decision to accept gastrostomy placement (p = 12.2 = 10(-4)).
authors.affiliation: Speech and Language Therapy Department, King's College Hospital, London, UK. juliajohnson@nhs.net
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: P Nigel
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Leigh
authors.forename: Christopher E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Burman
authors.forename: Ammar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Chalabi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D004750:Enteral Nutrition / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005774:Gastrostomy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057181:Pleasure; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011581:Psychological Tests; D016896:Treatment Outcome