Computer Applications to Medical Nutrition Problems

Abstract

The uses and abuses of computers in relation to nutritional management of patients is reviewed. A standardized computer program is presented which can be applied to measuring nutrient intake for various age groups, for the control of outpatient intake, for intensive care units employing defined formulas for oral and parenteral nutrient intakes, for dietary management of chronic disease such as renal cases, and as an educational tool for instructing the operator in checking nutrient intakes. A single day's diet was submitted to 11 different computer programs for calculation of nutrient content. The wide range of values reported by different programs for certain nutrients in this menu (eg, copper, vitamin E, magnesium) warrants consideration by those using these values in research and for prescribing patient care. The system of dietary analysis provided in this publication offers advantages over more traditional coding systems with regard to ease of use, freedom from error, flexibility, and usable print-out, all being related to the use of English words for entering and reading of data.