Malnutrition in the elderly: what nurses need to know.

Identifying nutritional deficit vulnerability and early and advanced malnutrition states in the elderly can be challenging. This article provides a clinical evaluation guide for identifying risks and diagnosing incipient and advanced malnutrition. Diagnosis and intervention can prevent loss of function and independence and decrease morbidity and mortality in the elderly.

Diagnosing malnutrition in the elderly.

Numerous research studies have documented the inability of many health care providers to identify nutritional deficit vulnerability and early and advanced malnutrition states in the elderly. This article provides a clinical evaluation guide for identifying risks and diagnosing incipient and advanced malnutrition. Diagnosis and intervention can prevent loss of function and independence and decrease morbidity and mortality in the elderly.

Intestinal parasites in Cambodians: comparison of diagnostic methods used in screening refugees with implications for treatment of populations with high rates of infestation.

We performed a retrospective review of screening parasitology examinations on a Cambodian refugee population served by an urban neighborhood health center. Five-hundred twenty of 1084 patients were examined for ova and parasites either by purged stool, which was examined immediately, or preserved stool, examined at a teaching hospital and proprietary laboratories. Overall, 335 (64 percent) of the tested patients had at least one parasite.

Relationship between weight change and diaphragm size change.

To evaluate the necessity of refitting the vaginal contraceptive diaphragm after weight loss or gain, an ex post facto/correlational study examined the relationship between body weight change and diaphragm size change. The hypothesis that no relationship exists between weight change and diaphragm size change was tested by selecting 125 clients from two family planning agencies. Weight change and diaphragm size change were compared statistically via chi-square tests, two-tailed t-tests, and regression analysis, revealing overwhelming support of the hypothesis.