Adult Failure to Thrive

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Feb 23, 2004

WHEW! Where do I begin......there are zillions of contributing factors to adult FTT. They include depression, dementia, digestive diseases, cancer, tooth loss and other oral problems, malabsorption, chronic diarrhea/vomiting, stress, you name it. TPN and other forms of parentaral nutrition are generally only short-term solutions; feeding tubes have to be considered when PO intake is so poor that it's impossible to maintain bodily functions. They don't always have to be permanent; I've seen them used in patients who have had complicated abdominal surgeries which require many months of recovery time, but then they're discontinued when the patient can again eat normally.

This is only a thumbnail sketch; indications for feeding tubes are many and as varied as individual patients.

1styear · Feb 23, 2004

Can Failure to Thrive(adult) also be a psychosocial Dx? I thought it could be related to social isolation or lack of social relatedness. I think I've heard of it more often as Physiological but is it possible it can be used a psychosocial as well(like confusion)?