ABSTRACT
Clinical or therapeutic nutrition deals with dietary modifications to fit the needs of individuals with pathological conditions. The area of study encompasses first, assessment of the nutritional status of individuals through the collection of dietary information, appraisal of physical findings, and laboratory measurements. Second, the comprehensive nutritional management of diseases arising from abnormal conditions with nutritional implications, including disorders of all major bodily systems. The third major area involved in clinical nutrition is the nutritional support of the critically ill patient, which entails the technology of alternative feeding modalities, including tube and parenteral feedings. Six functions that a computer software package might fulfill for a nutrition support service are: nutritional assessment and prescription; flow sheet of serial data; consultation function; administrative function; and clinical research and data storage. Computer uses in nutritional assessment delineated are: anthropometric and body composition measurements; clinical assessment; biochemical assessment; and dietary assessment.
