Question

A closer look at Data Collection for Nutrition Assessment

(Week 2 Discussion)

Patient Information

Mr. Brown is a 65-year-old Caucasian male diagnosed 6 months previously with a pre-malignant lesion of the tongue. The lesion was surgically removed at that time and the patient was treated with radiation, 15 sessions over an 8-week period. Mr. Brown completed radiation one month ago and now has no indication of cancer.

During the radiation treatments, Mr. Brown developed sores in his mouth, an extremely painful tongue, and a loss of taste. His diet during that time consisted of very soft or liquid foods. He now complains that he still only tolerates very soft or liquid foods.

Overall, Mr. Brown appears pale and complains of tiring easily. He is 5’ 10” tall and weighs 150 pounds. Prior to radiation, he weighed 180 pounds. At the end of his treatments he weighed 160 pounds. Prior to radiation, Mr. Brown was active and exercised regularly. Mr. Brown is present in the outpatient clinic of the hospital to assess his weight loss and to evaluate him for the presence of anemia.

Results from Mr. Brown’s lab tests are available and include a Comprehensive Metabolic Panel and a Complete Blood Count.

Mr. Brown is married, and his wife is present with him during his clinic visit. He has a college degree and is employed in an office setting. Until his diagnosis, Mr. Brown was required to travel frequently for work.

You have been asked to see Mr. Brown and conduct a nutritional assessment.

Questions #3: Biochemical data, medical tests, and procedures. What laboratory information is available to you in this case? Where would you find this information? Describe in detail the laboratory values of interest regarding Mr. Brown’s potential anemia? Describe in detail the laboratory values of interest regarding Mr. Brown’s recent weight loss. What other laboratory values might be important to obtain as important data in this case?

You have to see what else is need and what labs do they already have from the information. Trying to answer question 3.

Answer 1

Question #3

Ans: Information available in the case of Mr.Brown are:

1) Comprehensive metabolic panel: It contains information about the blood sugar levels, electrolyte and acid/base balance and regarding kidney and liver functions.

2) Total blood count: It provides information regarding Mr. Brown's red blood and white blood count, which helps to check anemia.

The normal level of hemoglobin in men are from 13.5 to 17.5g/dL of blood. In case of Mr.Brown, loss of weight indicates that he has developed potential anemia with decrease in the size of red blood cells and his weight decreased from 180 to 160 pounds after the cancer treatment.

The other important values in this case are: BMI, blood sugar level , creatinine level