Instructions

In this Assignment you are working with the same patient from the previous unit.

Background information: Imagine that you are working as a nutrition assistant under the supervision of an RD at a privately owned nutrition consulting business. A local physician in the area has referred a patient to your company, and the supervising RD asks you to perform a preliminary nutrition assessment on the patient based on the referral information and medical chart information. The patient is a 55-year-old male.

Ht: 6 ft.

Wt: 235 lbs.

Medical history: mild hypercholesterolemia (on Zocor), hypertension (on Toprol). Both are under control with the medications.

New Diagnosis: GERD

Referral notes: Patient has been placed on a common Proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) for management of GERD. Further outpatient nutrition consulting and assessment is requested by the primary care physician. The doctor prescribed the medication and expects that the patient will need to be on this medication for the long term management of GERD. The patient is complaining of tiredness, recent depression, some odd numb/tingling in the toe area of the foot, and also thinks that he has gotten sick a lot more since his PPI (proton pump inhibitor) medication dosage has been increased.

In the previous unit, you assessed the patient’s risk for drug-related nutrient deficiencies. Now, imagine that the supervising dietitian has asked you to design a nutrition intervention and management protocol that will address the patient’s nutrition issues as well as the underlying nutritional status that may be contributing to the overall need for the patient to be on the anti-GERD medication.

Develop a protocol that includes:

1. Include the patient’s weight status and overall clinical background/medical history (calculate BMI and associated weight category).
2. Review his medical history and clinical symptoms and discuss the possible reasons why he is requiring such high doses of the anti-GERD medication.
3. Include a summary of the patient’s nutrition-related problems and possible nutrient deficiencies. Please include references to support your ideas.
4. Design and develop a 2-day meal plan for this patient that will address the possible nutrient deficiencies (you may recommend separate dietary supplements if you feel that is necessary). Include a complete nutrient analysis summary chart or table that includes the total calories, all three macro-nutrients, and the vitamins/minerals that are of concern for this patient.
5. Can this new dietary management protocol help in the management of GERD? Describe the overall goals for the patient?  Describe which dietary habits will be altered; due to their possible or known roles in acting as a trigger for acid-reflux symptoms.  How may these dietary changes help reduce the need for high doses of PPI (include references here)?
6. How does this 2-day diet plan meet the patient’s needs? How will it help in the management and improvement of the possible nutrient deficiencies?

Requirements

• Include your answers to the above assigned questions in a 3-page essay. (The 2-day dietary plan can count as one of the page length requirements).  Please use at least two references. APA format is required.