CASE ASSESSMENTS

Case Assessments



Case Assessments

Assessment of Nutritional Needs for 30 Year Old Female with Multiple Fractures (on Hands and Feet) from Motor Vehicle Accident

The assessment of the subject female's nutritional needs will demand the continuous evaluation of her condition. The recovery process can take extensive influence from her nutritional standing. As a result, it will be imperative to closely monitor any changes she experiences in her appetite as well as any changes that take place with regard to her weight (Nnakwe, 2009). Furthermore, it will be equally imperative to keep a close eye on her eating habits so that any difficulties she experiences in eating, drinking and/or swallowing can be identified before they contribute to the development of complications. It merits highlighting at this point that a close and continuous analysis of the female subject's nutritional needs will also help to deter the development of infections during the healing of her fractions (Edelstein, 2011).

Ailments such as constipation and diarrhea can be prevented through continuous assessment of nutritional needs. Initial symptoms for such sicknesses can be identified through the close assessment of nutritional needs; thereby keeping the patient safe from toll-taking sicknesses that can have a negative influence on the recovery of the fractures (Gibson, 2005; Nnakwe, 2009). In this regard, there are two perimeters that will demand constant attention. Firstly, the case requires the measurement of height and weight in order to enable the calculation of BMI. Secondly, it will be important to ensure the continuous evaluation of weight in order to detect the incidence of unplanned weight loss (Lammi-Keefe, Couch, & Philipson, 2008; Edelstein, 2011).

Nutritional supplements can prove to be useful in this case since they will help provide the body with the additional nutritional value that is required for recovery from the fractures (Nnakwe, 2009). The fractures will have caused the body to weak and made it vulnerable to infection; thereby necessitating an additional boost that can be provided through nutritional supplements constituting calcium and vitamin D. The intake of calcium and vitamin D will also help ensure that the fractures do not further deteriorate (Edelstein, 2011; Lammi-Keefe, Couch, & Philipson, 2008). The process of wound healing shares a close relationship with the factors of nutrition and anabolism in cases that involve fractures.

Furthermore, the assessment of nutritional needs for the subject will also involve the assessment of stress caused by the fracture (Gibson, 2005; Khan, 2009). This will be done through the calculation of stress factors. This information will then have to be combined with the data that reflects the patient's level of activity. The level of activity that the patient maintains during the recovery process will have a direct influence on the nutritional needs of the subject; thereby necessitating the establishment of a definitive degree to which the patient engages in any form of physical exertion (Lammi-Keefe, Couch, & Philipson, 2008; Wintrobe & Greer, 2009).

The Case of 56 Year old Rod and Pernicious Anaemia

Rod's case makes it imperative to understand how vitamin deficiency can cause pernicious anaemia and ...