Technical skill is required to insert the tube and make decisions about what type of feed is given and how much, but even with skilled care, there can be side effects. Implantation through the abdominal wall can cause surgical complications and skin infection. Feeding tubes can traumatise and erode the lining of the nasal passage, oesophagus, stomach or intestine. Most patients fed by tube have brain disease and are unable to report that they feel full or unwell, so abdominal bloating, cramps, or diarrhoea may occur. Regurgitation is common, and the feed may be inhaled into the lungs.
Confused patients can also become anxious over the tube's presence and try to pull it out.
Intravenous lines can be uncomfortable, especially if fluid leaks into the skin or the skin becomes inflamed or infected. Intravenous fluids must be given with extra care to frail patients in order to avoid fluid overload and serious breathing difficulties. The Before and After book in which this piece appears is out of print. To order any of the other books that make up the Global Ideas Bank.