[Enteral feeding at home]

Enteral nutrition was used for the purpose of providing an adequate alimentary support to patients who had been discharged from the hospital. Ten of them received the enteral diet in their own homes by means of a Dobbhoff tube. Six patients, however, had been receiving it during their hospitalization period, and four had started the treatment in their own houses, thus avoiding need for hospitalization. Enteral feeding was the only nutritional support used in the case of six patients. For the others, an oral diet was free to be used, even though the enteral diet provided all the required calories and proteins. All patients did very well and improvement of their nutritional condition was observed, without any intercurrence due to the enteral nutrition. Development of this procedure allows provision of adequate nutritional support to patients in their own homes, even in more complex situations. The low-cost enteral diet is easy to prepare and administer, thus enabling low-income patients to receive it in their own homes. Furthermore, it shortens the hospitalization period, and avoids the risk of discontinuing adequate nourishment of ill persons after their discharge from the hospital.