The case of Terri Schiavo resulted in substantial media attention
about the use of artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) especially by
percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG). In this article, I review
ethical and legal principles governing decisions to choose or forgo ANH at
the end of life, including issues of autonomy and decision-making
capacity, similarities and differences between ANH and other medical
treatments, the role of proxies when patients lack decision-making
capacity, and the equivalence of withholding and withdrawing treatment.
Evidence for palliative or life-sustaining benefits for ANH are reviewed
in three disease processes: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), cancer,
and dementias, including Alzheimer's disease. Although more recent
studies suggest a possible palliative role for ANH in ALS and terminal
cancer, feeding tubes do not appear to prolong survival or increase
comfort in advanced dementia of the Alzheimer's type.