Validación y resultados preliminares de un cuestionario a médicos acerca de los aspectos bioéticos relativos al uso de la alimentación enteral en pacientes con demencia

Pilar de Antueno; Agustín Silberberg; Alberto Alonso Babarro

doi:10.5294/pebi.2023.27.2.2

Authors

Pilar de Antueno Author Austral University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4400-3831
Agustín Silberberg Author Hospital Universitario Austral
Alberto Alonso Babarro Author Hospital Universitario La Paz https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0165-380X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5294/pebi.2023.27.2.2

Keywords:

Palliative care, dementia, survey, enteral nutrition, bioethics

Abstract

Introduction: Enteral feeding in patients with dementia poses an ethical-clinical challenge. This article presents the validation process of a questionnaire to know doctors’ opinions on the matter and its preliminary results. Materials and methods: An anonymous questionnaire was prepared to obtain doctors’ views about enteral feeding. I was aimed at palliative care, geriatrics, internal medicine, and neurology specialists from public and private care centers attending to three clinical cases of patients with dementia at different stages of evolution. The questions addressed four fields: motivations for starting or stopping enteral feeding, therapeutic adequacy, euthanasia, and decision-making. Results: A response rate of 64 % was attained. The questionnaire turned out to be a tool with acceptable validity and reliability. Palliative care and geriatrics specialists were more likely to adapt therapeutic efforts and integrate the family into decisions. Internal medicine and neurology professionals tended to be more invasive in their treatments. Conclusion: The results allow us to recommend the questionnaire to assess professionals’ attitudes toward the most relevant bioethical issues in the care of patients with dementia.

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