[Tube feeding older patient's as a renutrition program: less is more?]

Among the geriatric syndromes for which hospitalized and institutionalized patients are at high risk, malnutrition is a frequent problem, and the prevalence increases with the degree of frailty. Are the treatments that are available for improving nutritional status sufficiently adaptable to the degree of frailty present in elderly patients? This article presents the findings from a literature review assessing the complications associated with tube feeding in advanced dementia. Refeeding syndrome in the fragile and elderly population is an under-recognized and poorly understood problem. Through the use of a clinical vignette which is representative of 8 cases observed in our geriatric ward, we examine the clinical warning signs, the laboratory workup, and the available treatment options.