DISCONTINUING FEEDING TUBES IN A COMMUNITY NURSING-HOME

This study retrospectively reviews the experience of a 126-bed communi ty nursing home at weaning tube-fed residents. All patients admitted t o facility over a 6-year period who were tube fed were included in the review (N = 15). All tube-fed residents had a sustained trial of oral feeding. Tube feedings were discontinued if oral intake was sufficien t. Fifteen tube-fed patients were admitted over the period studied. Se ven residents were retrained to eat and were weaned from tube feeds. W e conclude that some residents admitted to our nursing home with feedi ng tubes can be weaned from them. Prospective studies using a larger s ample are needed to better delineate the nature of the weaning process and to define the clinical characteristics that predict the ability t o wean.