NUTR 300 Human Nutrition and Metabolism

Case study instructions:

The purpose of this assignment is to see how well you can apply the information you have learned in class and through readings to analyze your case study. Case studies involve a story about a particular person’s condition. They represent realistic, complex situations. Each case study will be different but will entail a patient suffering from at least one condition that has nutritional implications. You may be asked to recommend treatment methods, comment on nutrient intake, etc.

As students, it is your responsibility to download the case study information. It will not be emailed to you personally. You will have to discuss and answer the assigned questions with your teammate.  And then, when you feel ready, you will record your interaction with your colleague (on zoom) discussing the case study while sharing slides. Please take in consideration that is a technical report and should contain medical and scientific terms. Explain all abbreviations. Once you have explained the abbreviation, you may later use the abbreviation. Make sure you demonstrate what you know about the disease process(es) and their nutritional implications. We can only grade your answers as correct if we can hear you voice well and there is minimal background noise. Please consider this when choosing a location to record your video.

Each team must submit one 10 – 15 min video on Canvas as well as a brief summary of your research findings and citations, until 11:59PM of the due date.

Sources of information:

When appropriate you may need to use resources outside of lecture notes and the textbook. When necessary you should integrate scientific articles into your case study for support. Provide proper citation for references, points will be deducted for failure to do so. This includes your textbook, cite it if you use it. Do not just list articles and critique them. You may use the internet, textbooks or other reliable and credible sources for information. You may also use information provided during lectures. Please provide some display of your references either during your presentation or after the presentation is complete.  Case studies will be graded on the depth of creativity, understanding of the case study, knowledge of course content and nutrient integration, and critical thinking.

Case:

Patient 1

A 35-year-old man with a history of high alcohol intake for 18 years was admitted to the hospital complaining of massive swelling and shortness of breath on exertion. For several months, he had subsisted almost entirely on beer and whiskey, taking no solid food. He was grossly edematous, slightly jaundiced, and showed transient cyanosis of the lips and nail beds. His heart showed gallop rhythm. His left pleural cavity contained fluid. His liver was enlarged with notable ascites. He had a coarse tremor of the hands and reduced tendon reflexes. His electrocardiogram showed sinus tachycardia. His radiogram showed pulmonary edema and cardiac enlargement. He was evaluated by cardiac catheterization.

The patient was given treatment intravenously for several days. Improvement was evident by 48 h and continued for 2 weeks. Thirty days later, he was free of edema, dyspnea, and cardiomegaly. Cardiac catheterization at that time showed that his blood, systemic venous, and all intracardiac pressures, as well as cardiac output, had all returned to normal.

What nutritional deficiencies do you anticipate for this patient? Explain in detail which factors have contributed to that/those deficiency(ies).

How is the status in that/those micronutrients relates with the ability of cells to produce energy?

How do you think this deficiency influenced the heart function?

Which laboratory tests would you use to confirm your diagnosis? Explain in detail.

As a nutritionist, which would be your recommendations to this patient?