Survival period after tube feeding in bedridden older patients

Aim: We prospectively studied survival periods after tube feeding. Methods: Participants were 163 bedridden older patients suffering from dysphagia. Results: A wide range of survival periods after tube feeding were observed within half a year without tube feeding after being bedridden. After this initial period, survival periods after tube feeding were limited to approximately half a year. Survival periods after tube feeding were positively proportional to the length of time patients were free from pneumonia after tube feeding. After tube feeding, patients died from pneumonia within half a year, and the frequency of pneumonia was 3.1 ± 2.7 times (mean ± SD) before death. Conclusion: Survival periods after tube feeding for less than 1 year were primarily determined by being bedridden for more than half a year without tube feeding and once pneumonia occurred; patients who were tube fed did not survive for more than half a year. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2012; 12: 317–321.