NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT

NUTRITIONAL ASSESSMENT

Patients who are considered to be at nutritional risk are required to undergo a comprehensive nutritional assessment, a process consisting essentially of the following 4 steps:

• Patient/family interview

  • A patient/family interview must be conducted. The subjective data obtained during this initial interview are probably the most important component of the assessment process.

  • If time is not taken to obtain information about the patient's food, cultural, and meal pattern preferences, any intervention is likely to fail, as it has not been individualized to the patient.

  • This interview is also an ideal time to discuss the patient's nutritional history, including weight, intake, activity level, and feeding disabilities, as well as to complete a physical nutritional assessment.

• Objective data collection

  • The objective data are the most easily obtainable data because they can be found in the medical record.

  • The objective data include information such as the patient's height, weight, laboratory test values, pertinent medications, medical condition, and rehabilitation goals.

• Analysis of objective data

  • The challenge here is to analyze the objective data.

  • The objective data should help to determine the patient's nutritional status, nutritional needs, the most appropriate diet, the need for snacks and/or supplements, and when to recommend aggressive nutritional support.

• Nutritional intervention

  • Intervention must be tailored to the patient's needs as determined during the subjective and objective data collection.

  • The key to a successful intervention and treatment plan is the synthesis of the patient's wants with his or her needs.

  • At no time should the clinician be satisfied with the status quo. Interventions need to be updated frequently to keep the patient interested in eating and to make continued progress toward nutritional goals.