A fact often forgotten by clinicians is that nutrition may constitute the most important therapeutic measure in management of a patient. Most serious disorders are accompanied by loss of appetite, and when this becomes prolonged, malnutrition develops to the point of jeopardizing survival. This problem has been ignored or met ineffectively by most physicians.
The use of tube feeding, while not new, has been employed with some restraint. This is the topic of Pareira's book. He has reviewed the historical development of the technique and described modern facilities. Moreover, he has compared diets, methods of feeding, and results obtained under a variety of conditions.
The fact that tube feeding is successful in a wide variety of illnesses comes as no surprise. The puzzling aspect is; why have we been so reluctant to employ this method before our patients became malnourished? In this concise volume, the author has detailed this technique