Nutrition Interventions for Children with Special Health Care Needs

Table 7-3: Nutrition Interventions for Chronic Diarrhea
Assessment Intervention Evaluation/
Outcome
Anthropometric*
Child maintains growth
pattern.
Adjust recommendations for energy intake
based on growth data.
Measure and plot on appropriate growth chart:
• Height or length for age
• Weight for age
• Weight for height (or length) or BMI
• Head circumference (under 3 years)
Calculate rate of weight gain and linear and OFC growth (It is very
important to know if there has been weight loss or slowing of weight
gain.)
Repeat height/length, weight and OFC measurements at every clinic
visit.
Section 2 - Problem-Based Nutrition Interventions
Clinical
Treatment for medical
causes of chronic diarrhea is
identified.
Treatment of chronic diarrhea is dependent
on the cause. Medical and dietary
management is available for many of the
disorders that cause chronic diarrhea.
Obtain information about clinical history. Include child’s age, other
diagnoses (prematurity, congenital disorders, prior surgery),
medications, possible exposures through day care attendance,
camping, or foreign travel. Food record is helpful to evaluate possible
causes of diarrhea.
Nutrition Interventions for Children With Special Health Care Needs 89
Obtain information about stool history, including duration of illness,
stool frequency, consistency, and presence of blood or mucus.
Specific emphasis should be placed on the characteristics of the stool
and if there is a family history of gastrointestinal disorders.
A careful review of systems must be done to see if other body systems
are involved (e.g., respiratory tract symptoms might be the clue that
cystic fibrosis is the cause of chronic diarrhea).