Celiac Disease: Nutrition Teaching Plan - Case Study Example

Celiac Disease: Nutrition Teaching Plan Case Study 10 year old James was brought to the pediatric out patient department by his mother with complaints of poor growth, poor appetite, frequent episodes of diarrhoea, bloating of abdomen, irritability and recurrent abdominal pain. On enquiry, the mother told that sometimes his stools were bulky and fou lsmelling. Family history was insignificant. In the past, James was taken to pediatricians for poor weight gain and they treated him for malnutrition.

Examination revealed growth retardation and bloated abdomen. Stools examination revealed carbohydrate and fat malabsorption. Blood investigations revealed anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies. Intestinal biopsy confirmed celiac disease. Teaching plan Patients with celiac disease have sensitivity to gluten which is a protein found in foods like barley, malt, oats, wheat and rye (Klapproth, 2009). Hence, patients with celiac disease must consume gluten free diet for healing of intestine and also to prevent various complications of celiac disease like bone disease.

There are several foods which are gluten free and they are grains like corn, millet, ragi, rice and wild rice and other plant foods like amaranth, Indian rice grass, nuts, legumes, potatoes, sago, soy, tapioca and yucca. The patients must consume any food after ruling out the presence of gluten substances in the food by reading the constituent information of the particular food. It is strongly recommended by the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services (2010) that Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) be provided by a dietician who is registered for patients with a diagnosis of celiac disease.

The MNT must be based on certain tests that are done frequently to assess the nutrition status of the individual and also the complications of celiac disease. This is important because; gluten free diets are often associated with low iron and folate, carbohydrate content, niacin and zinc and other minerals. Thus, it is imperative that those on gluten free diets must have addition of mineral and multivitamin supplements every day. Tests which help in deciding nutrition therapy are screening for anemia, bone mineral density and lipid profile.

Iron supplementation must be done in case there is iron deficiency. Those with decreased bone density must receive calcium and phosphorus supplementation (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). It is very important for a coordinated approach for nutrition management of celiac disease patients. The team must involve physicians, dieticians and community nurses. References American Dietic Association. (2009). Celiac Disease Nutrition Therapy. Retrieved from nutritioncaremanual.org/vault/.

/CeliacNutritionTherapy_FINAL.pdf Klapproth, J.A. (2009). Celiac Sprue. Medscape.reference. Emedicine from WebMD. Retrieved from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/171805-overview U.S.Department of Health and Human Services. (2010). Evidence-based nutrition practice guideline. Retrieved from http://www.guidelines.gov/content.aspx?id=14854.