Acute Care Settings Acute care settings, anorexia, various diseases, test procedures, and medications can compromise dietary intake. Under such circumstances, the goal is to identify and avoid inadequate intake and ensure appropriate alimentation. Dietary assessment focuses on what patients are currently eating, whether they are able and willing to eat, and whether they experience any problems with eating. Dietary intake assessment is based on information from observed intakes; medical record; history; clinical examination; and anthropometric, biochemical, and functional status. The objective is to gather enough information to establish the likelihood of malnutrition due to poor dietary intake or other. | Chapter 070. Nutritional Requirements and Dietary Assessment Part 6 Acute Care Settings Acute care settings anorexia various diseases test procedures and medications can compromise dietary intake. Under such circumstances the goal is to identify and avoid inadequate intake and ensure appropriate alimentation. Dietary assessment focuses on what patients are currently eating whether they are able and willing to eat and whether they experience any problems with eating. Dietary intake assessment is based on information from observed intakes medical record history clinical examination and anthropometric biochemical and functional status. The objective is to gather enough information to establish the likelihood of malnutrition due to poor dietary intake or other causes and to assess whether nutritional therapy is indicated. Simple observations may suffice to suggest inadequate oral intake. These include dietitians and nurses notes the amount of food eaten on trays frequent tests and procedures that are likely to cause meals to be skipped nutritionally inadequate diet orders such as clear liquids or full liquids for more than a few days fever gastrointestinal distress vomiting diarrhea a comatose state and diseases or treatments that involve any part of the alimentary tract. Acutely ill patients with diet-related diseases such as diabetes require assessment because an inappropriate diet may exacerbate these conditions and adversely affect other therapies. Abnormal biochemical values serum albumin levels 35 g L mg dL serum cholesterol levels mmol L 150 mg dL are nonspecific but may also indicate a need for further nutritional assessment. Most therapeutic diets offered in hospitals are calculated to meet individual nutrient requirements and the RDA. However there are exceptions including clear liquids some full liquid diets and test diets which are inadequate for several nutrients and should not be used if possible for more than 24 h. As much as half of the food .
