A patient with Alzheimer's disease, fed via percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, with personal reflections on some of the ethical issues arising fromthis case

Dementia is a common condition which is often complicated by difficulties w ith eating and drinking, including dysphagia. This case study describes the management of the dysphagia of an elderly woman with Alzheimer's disease a nd her eventual feeding via percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy. Some of th e ethical issues arising from the case are discussed, including enteral nut rition in dementia care, resource allocation and the consequences of not us ing nonoral feeding to manage dysphagia.