[Ethical and clinical decisions on artificial hydration and feeding via tube in the terminally ill]

Tube feeding is a widely used medical treatment for providing nutrition to terminally ill patients. Long term nutritional support in these patients or patients with irreversible neurological deterioration create a host of ethical and legal conflicts with difficult solutions. This work looks at the cultural and ethical-legal basis of these decisions and gives simple suggestions that might help the health care provider in making a viable clinical decision. However, each case should be treated in an individualized manner taking into consideration the rights and desires of each patient and their families.