Recently the scientific community has taken a closer look at the use of artificial nutrition and hydration to see if there is good evidence that these treatments are useful.  There have been some surprising findings!  Myths that have been held about the usefulness of artificial nutrition and hydration are being challenged, particularly as they have been used for persons who have incurable disease, in persons who have neurologic or brain disorders, and in the frail elderly person.

Let’s take a look at some of these myths:

Myth:  A person who gets aspiration pneumonia (pneumonia which develops because contents of the mouth are seeping down the trachea into the lungs) because of difficulty with swallowing and choking needs to have a gastrostomy tube placed to prevent recurrence of the aspiration pneumonia.

Fact:  There is no good evidence that demonstrates that gastrostomy tubes, or tubes into the small intestine, prevent aspiration pneumonia…