"I Don't Want to Gain Weight!" The Ethics of Tube Feeding Over the Objection of a Patient with Anorexia Nervosa.
- Resource Type
- Case Study
- Authors
- Eisenberg, Leah
- Source
- American Journal of Bioethics. Aug2023, Vol. 23 Issue 8, p97-98. 2p.
- Subject
- *THERAPEUTICS
*CONVALESCENCE
*ATTITUDE (Psychology)
*PHYSICIANS' attitudes
*WEIGHT gain
*PATIENTS' attitudes
*ANOREXIA nervosa
*ENTERAL feeding
*BRADYCARDIA
*PSYCHOSOCIAL factors
- Language
- ISSN
- 1526-5161
The article describes the case of 19-year-old Esme Johnson, who is admitted for weakness and low heart rate related to her poor nutrition but states she does not wish to gain weight. Topics discussed include her lack of capacity to make decisions pertaining to anorexia treatment, the use of a feeding tube while capacity is determined, and the recommendation for clinical ethicists to use multidisciplinary meetings for purposes beyond answering the ethics question regarding tube feeding.