Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes: How NFPE Can Strengthen your Pediatric Malnutrition Diagnosis

Student Member Price: $10.00

Nutrition focused physical exams (NFPE) have become standard practice in medical nutrition therapy. Though NFPE is a valuable assessment tool, there are still perceived and real barriers that prevent practitioners from completing the exam as part of their usual care, and adoption has been slower in pediatric settings. The Academy/American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) Malnutrition Clinical Characteristics (MCC) established eight indicators for assessing and diagnosing pediatric malnutrition, but does not include NFPE. However, NFPE can be used in conjunction with the MCC to strengthen malnutrition diagnoses. This session will present preliminary results from the MCC Validation and Staffing Optimization Study and illustrate the relationship between NFPE indicators and Academy/ASPEN malnutrition criteria. The session will include perspectives from pediatric research RDNs participating in the MCC study and will provide guidance on benefits of using both MCC and NFPE to support documentation, increase reimbursement, and improve care plans by adequately assessing and diagnosing pediatric malnutrition.

CPE Level: Level 2 (intermediate knowledge/experience)
CPEU: 1.0

Performance Indicators

• 10.1.1 Identifies and selects valid and reliable screening tool(s) to obtain and verify relevant data in support of nutrition assessment.
• 5.4.2 Uses standardized terminology to describe nutrition assessment data, nutrition diagnoses, nutrition interventions, and nutrition monitoring and evaluation.
• 8.3.6 Keeps abreast of current nutrition and dietetics knowledge and trends.

Learning Objectives

• Describe the key components of the Academy/ASPEN malnutrition criteria.
• Apply nutrition status assessment techniques in practice.
• Document malnutrition diagnoses using appropriate supporting evidence.

Speakers

• Susan Goolsby
• Caitlin Stewart