Question

1. Describe how you can make mealtime more conducive to eating and more pleasant for the patient.

2. What can you do to help increase nutritional intake for the patient with a limited appetite?

3. Why is ensuring intake and output balance pertinent?

4. Describe the differences between a clear liquid and full liquid diet.

5. Explain what “advance as tolerated” means in relation to a diet order.

6. Why is it important to educate patients about potential food–drug interactions?

Answer 1

1. Mealtime is usually a social activity. If appropriate, encourage visitors to eat with that patient. When patient experience anorexia, encourage other nurses or care provider to converse and engage them in conversation. Mealtime is also a excellent opportunity for patient education. Instruct patient about any therapeutic diets, medication, energy conservation measure or adaptive devices to assist with independent feeding.

2. Increasing nutritional intake for patient with limited appetite :

- Providing an environment that promote nutritional intake includes keeping a patient environment free of odours, providing oral hygiene as needed to remove unpleasant taste, and maintaing patient comfort.

- offering small, frequent meals often helps.

- Certain medication affect dietary intake and nutrient use, in that case the nurse and dietician help patient to select food that reduce the altered taste sensation and nausea. And consult dietician regarding seasonings that may be used to improve food taste.

- Assessing patient for the need for pharmacologic agents to stimulate appetite.

3. Fluid and electrolytes imbalance is very important to monitor in patient who are very critically ill.

- Intake and output ensure accurate record keeping, prevent circulatory overload, prevent dehydration.

- Physician diagnosis and treatment depend on accurate measurement of intake and output.

- Measurement of intake and output can monitor progress of treatment.

4. Difference between clear liquid and full liquid diet :

Clear liquid diet :

- clear liquid diet are relatively transparent to light and are liquid at body temperature are considered clear liquid, such as water, bouillon, clear broth, carbonated beverage, gelatin, hard candy, lemonade, ice pops, and regular or decaffeinated coffee or tea.

- Clear liquid diet is easily digested and absorbed.

Full liquid diet :

- Foods include all clear liquid and items such as plain ice cream, sherbet, breakfast drinks, milk, pudding and custard, soup that are strained, refined cooked cereals, fruit juices and strained vegetable juices.

- The diet include clear and opaque liquid foods.

5. Patient with acute illness and those undergoing surgery or bowel procedure may need a diet that is modified in consistency to assist in the management of their illness. The physician may order" clear liquids, advance as tolerated". This means the patient is allowed to gradually progress from a diet of clear liquid to full liquid, the on to a soft diet and finally to a regular diet, as the patient is able to tolerate the increasing consistency without nausea, vomiting, or distress.

6. When health condition require drug therapy, drug andfood interaction may not be explored before starting a prescription. Adverse interaction can include incompatiblities, altered drug effectiveness, and impaired nutritional status. As a member of health care team, nurses have a responsibility for monitoring and preventing these potential interaction for patients while in hospital and at home.