Effects of long-term elemental nasogastric feeding on elderly debilitated patients

The effects of a liquid elemental diet on nine patients requiring nasogastric tube feeding because of severe dysphagia were studied. A casein based feeding served as a control. The elemental diet was given over a 12-week period except in the case of one man who expired after nine weeks from causes unrelated to the diet.The feeding was well tolerated by the digestive tract. Satisfactory nutrition appeared to be maintained as indicated by weight gain, stable hemoglobin, serum total protein and albumin values, and normal healing of pressure sores. BUN levels decreased significantly. Uric acid levels increased but remained within normal limits. Pancreatic function was unaffected clinically and from the postmortem findings of the man who died, pancreatic morphology was normal. Fasting blood sugars, serum electrolytes, hematocrit, bleeding, clotting and prothrombin times, and platelet counts were normal.