Pressure injuries are common complications in patients with limited mobility, particularly those who are bedridden. These wounds not only cause pain and reduce quality of life but also lead to prolonged hospitalization, increased risk of infection, and higher healthcare costs. Among the various contributing factors, malnutrition plays a crucial role by impairing collagen synthesis, weakening immune function, and delaying tissue repair. Adequate nutritional support—particularly sufficient protein and energy intake—is therefore an essential component of comprehensive pressure injury management. We present the case of a paraplegic patient who developed a vulvar pressure injury. A structured, stepwise nutritional intervention was implemented, including adjustment of meal composition based on appetite, supplementation with high-protein oral nutritional supplements, vitamins and minerals, and the use of probiotics to manage diarrhea. As a result, the patient’s daily protein intake increased from less than 10 g to 80–90 g, accompanied by progressive wound improvement. Serial clinical assessments showed reduced slough, increased granulation tissue formation, and epithelialization. This case highlights the vital role of individualized nutritional management within a multidisciplinary approach to pressure injury care. Stepwise nutritional intervention, tailored to the patient’s tolerance and clinical status, contributed significantly to wound healing. Nutritional optimization should be considered an integral component of effective pressure injury treatment strategies.
Malnutrition is prevalent among older patients, leading to increased morbidity, prolonged hospitalization, and diminished quality of life. The Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) facilitates the evaluation of multifaceted health issues, enabling individualized nutritional interventions. This case report describes nutritional management guided by CGA in a 75-year-old female hospitalized for severe hypernatremia with significant malnutrition and high-risk for refeeding syndrome. Upon admission, CGA identified multiple comorbidities, cognitive impairment, and complete dependence on caregivers for daily activities. Due to persistent refusal of oral intake, enteral nutrition (EN) was cautiously initiated at 25% of the target energy requirement, with close monitoring of electrolyte levels. Despite an initial decrease in phosphorus levels suggestive of refeeding syndrome, gradual advancement of nutritional support successfully stabilized her clinical condition. Following discharge, structured caregiver education was provided to support EN at home; however, suboptimal intake persisted due to gastrointestinal intolerance, resulting in weight loss. Post-discharge follow-ups identified feeding rate-related symptoms, necessitating formula adjustments and caregiver re-education. This case emphasizes the critical role of CGA in early malnutrition detection, individualized nutritional intervention, prevention of refeeding syndrome, and the importance of continuous post-discharge monitoring and caregiver education. Although the findings are limited by the single-case design, proactive CGA-based nutritional interventions remain crucial for optimizing clinical outcomes in older patients hospitalized due to acute medical problems. Further research involving larger samples and prolonged follow-up periods is required to validate the long-term benefits of CGA-based nutritional intervention.
A food exchange list is a tool developed to help diabetic patients control their energy intake and plan balanced meals. Korean food exchange lists were first developed in 1988, revised in 1995, and updated again in 2010. With rapidly changing dietary habits and increasing demand for diverse food cultures, the Korean Diabetes Association in cooperation with 4 related organizations established a Task Force Team (TFT) to revise food exchange lists in March 2022. Starting with a workshop, TFT held 11 official revision meetings, culminating in a public hearing in May 2023. The final revised version of Korean food exchange lists was published in December 2023. Key outcomes of the revision are summarized as follows: 1. Based on the National Standard Food Composition Table 10.0 database, the existing classification system and nutrient standards for each food group remain unchanged this time. 2. Based on a survey conducted among diabetes educators, the number of items on the food exchange lists has increased from 339 in 2010 to 435 this time. 3. Considering patients’ usual eating habits, meal planning examples were developed distributing food group exchange units by energy level based on 3 types of proportions of carbohydrate energy (40%–45%, 50%–55%, 60%–65%). 4. Due to limitations in real-time updates for rapidly changing information, detailed guidance on how to access and interpret the data is provided. These revisions will help people with diabetes manage their blood sugar levels and facilitate the implementation of healthy meal planning in various other conditions, including obesity.
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Gastrectomy is the most effective method of treating gastric cancer, but it is commonly associated with weight loss, nutritional deficiencies, and the increased risk of malnutrition due to post-surgery complications, including gastric stasis, dumping syndrome, malabsorption, and maldigestion. Malnutrition is a risk factor for postoperative complications and poor prognosis. To prevent it and guarantee a quick recovery after surgery, continuous and individualized nutrition intervention should be performed both before surgery and postoperatively. The Department of Dietetics at Samsung Medical Center (SMC) performed nutritional status assessment before gastrectomy, initial nutritional assessment within 24 hours of admission, description of therapeutic diet after surgery, nutrition counselling before discharge, and nutritional status assessment and individual nutrition counselling after 1, 3, 6, and 12 months from surgery. This is a case report of a patient who underwent gastrectomy as well as intensive nutrition intervention in SMC.
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Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin disease in children worldwide but can affect individuals of all ages. Patients and parents of pediatric patients tend to restrict too much food because they think this aggravates or causes AD. However, there is a risk of nutrient deficiency owing to a lack of balanced diet. Herein, nutritional counseling was conducted to improve the eating habits of a patient with AD, promote nutritionally balanced meals, and consequently observe changes in the severity of AD. This report discusses the case of a 15-year-old male patient with AD who did not receive nutritional counseling previously but regularly ate breakfast and consumed fruits, beans, vegetables, and milk more frequently after counseling. His vegetable consumption increased from less than one plate a day before counseling to more than eight plates a day after counseling. This change was reflected in the nutritional quotient for adolescents (NQ-A) score. After consultation, eating habits improved, as indicated by a 1.2-, 2.4-, and 1.5-fold increase in NQ-A, diversity category, and balance category scores, respectively. The intake of protein, dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin K, vitamin C, niacin, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and water was inadequate before consultation and improved after consultation. The eating habits and severity of AD also improved after nutritional counseling. However, this result was not tested in a tightly controlled environment. It was difficult to conclude that only the eating habits affected the severity. Therefore, further research is needed.
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For patients with citrullinemia type 1, nutritional management is essential to prevent the occurrence of complications associated with hyperammonemia. This report describes a patient who had been receiving nutrition intervention for more than 3 years. A newborn diagnosed with hyperammonemia due to citrullinemia visited Ajou University Hospital and was referred to the nutrition team. After receiving acute treatment, the infant was regularly fed with specialized formula. A protein-restricted diet is recommended for maintaining normal development and achieving long-term survival. Through continuous provision of nutritional intervention, the child showed normal growth and development, and the energy-protein supply was maintained appropriately. This case clearly shows the importance of medical nutrition therapy for patients with citrullinemia.
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Patients with heart failure (HF) need nutritional management such as sodium restriction and healthy eating habits to relieve symptoms and to manage chronic disease. This case study examined 3 patients who had different nutritional problems and responded positively to the nutrition management program. Patient 1 and 2 had high levels of energy intake and were obese. Patient 1 had a habit of irregular binge eating and frequently consumed sweetened snacks and fast foods. He was advised to eat regular 3 meals per day with balanced food choices. He decreased his energy consumption to the recommenced intake and his body mass index had dropped to 22.9 kg/m2 by his second follow-up visit. Patients 2 ate 3 meals regularly but ate a large amount of food. Although he decreased his energy intake to 97% of the recommended intake, he should be advised to increase his protein intake at the 1st follow-up session because he decreased his protein intake less than 90% of the recommended amount. Patient 3 reduced food intake by half due to dyspnea caused by HF before hospitalization, but symptoms improved after discharge and his energy as well as sodium intake increased. In the second follow-up, his nutritional diagnosis was excessive sodium intake and nutritional intervention was performed to reduce sodium intake. This study showed that additional nutritional problems might arise throughout the nutritional intervention process. Therefore, follow-up nutritional counseling should be held to evaluate the compliance with the nutrition management guidelines and to decide whether additional nutrition problems are suggested.
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Non-Hodgkin lymphoma comprises 2.1% of the total number of cancers in South Korea. Among those, diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) comprises the largest percentage. Nutrition interventions have been highlighted because nutritional status in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients has a significant impact on treatment and prognosis, but relevant studies are inadequate. Therefore, the aim of this study was to share the case of a nutrition intervention for a patient with primary gastrointestinal non-Hodgkin lymphoma underlying chronic kidney disease who was comorbid with tumor lysis syndrome, which was a complication of a specific chemotherapy. The subject is a 76-year-old patient who was diagnosed with DLBCL. He had abdominal pain, constipation, and anorexia. After chemotherapy, he experienced the tumor lysis syndrome. The patient's condition was continuously monitored, and various nutrition interventions, such as nutrition counseling and education, provision of therapeutic diet, oral nutritional supplement, change of meal plans, and parenteral nutrition support were attempted. As a result of the nutrition intervention, oral intake was increased from 27% of the energy requirement to 70% and from 23% of the protein requirement to 77%. Despite the various nutrition interventions during the hospitalization, there were no improvements in weight and nutrition-related biochemical parameters or malnutrition. However, it was meaningful in that the patient was managed to prevent worsening and the planned third chemotherapy could be performed. These results can be used as the basis for establishing guidelines for nutritional interventions customized to patients under the same conditions.
For patients with short bowel syndrome who undergo ileostomy, nutritional management is essential to prevent complications associated with a high-output stoma (HOS). We report a practical example of ostomic, medical nutrition therapy provided by an intensive nutritional support team (NST). A 42-year-old male with a history of Crohn's disease visited Seoul National University Hospital for treatment of mechanical ileus. He underwent loop ileostomy after extensive small bowel resection. As his remaining small bowel was only 160 cm in length, the stomal output was about 3,000 mL/day and his body weight fell from 52.4 to 40.3 kg. Given his clinical condition, continuous tube feeding for 24 h was used to promote adaptation of the remnant bowel. Thereafter, an oral diet was initiated and multiple, nutritional educational sessions were offered by dietitians. Constant infusion therapy was prescribed and included in the discharge plan. Two months after discharge, his body weight had increased to 46.6 kg and his hydration status was appropriately maintained. This case suggests that the critical features of medical nutritional therapy for ostomy management are frequent assessments of fluid balance, weight history, and laboratory data and after nutritional interventions.
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Diabetes in pregnancy is associated with higher rates of miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, preterm labor, and fetal malformation. To prevent these obstetric and perinatal complications, women with diabetes have to control levels of blood sugar, both prior to and during pregnancy. Thus, individualized medical nutrition therapy for each stage of pregnancy is essential. We provided in-depth medical nutrition therapy to a 38-year-old pregnant woman with diabetes at all stages of pregnancy up to delivery. She underwent radiation therapy after surgery for breast cancer and was diagnosed with diabetes. At the time of diagnosis, her glycated hemoglobin level was 8.3% and she was planning her pregnancy. She started taking an oral hypoglycemic agent and received education regarding the management of diabetes and preconception care. She became pregnant while maintaining a glycated hemoglobin level of less than 6%. We provided education program for diabetes management during the pregnancy, together with insulin therapy. She experienced weight loss and ketones were detected; furthermore, she was taking in less than the recommended amount of foods for the regulation of blood sugar levels. By giving emotional support, we continued the counseling and achieved not only glycemic control but also instilled an appreciation of the importance of appropriate weight gain and coping with difficulties. Through careful diabetes management, the woman had a successful outcome for her pregnancy, other than entering preterm labor at 34 weeks. This study implicated that the important things in medical nutrition therapy for pregnant women with diabetes are frequent follow-up care and emotional approach through the pregnancy process.
We report the case in order to examine the effect of a mobile application program ("Diabetes & Nutrition") developed in 2011-2012 for self-management in patients with type 2 diabetes and to recommend important considerations when the mobile application program is developed. A 46-year-old man was newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2013 and had no complications. The height of the patient was 168 cm and the body weight was 75.6 kg. Nutrition education was conducted according to a medical prescription, and follow-up nutrition education was conducted after 3 and 6 months. After nutrition education, the patient was engaged in self-management using "Diabetes & Nutrition" program during 3 months. At 3 months, the body weight had decreased by 4.4 kg (from 75.6 to 71.2 kg), waist circumference by 5 cm (from 88 to 83 cm) and HbA1c level from 7.9% to 6.1%. Also at 3 months, the medication was reduced from from the dose of 850 mg to the dose of 500 mg metformin per twice a day. Since then, the patient did not continue to use the "Diabetes & Nutrition" because the level of blood glucose had stabilized, and the patient felt inconvenient and annoying to use the program. At 6 months, no significant change in the body weight and body composition was observed in comparison with those at 3 months. The present case demonstrates that the early use of "Diabetes & Nutrition" could be helpful for self-management of glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. Developing self-management mobile application programs in the future will require strategies of how to promote continuous use of application program and self-management of type 2 diabetes.
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Mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalopathy (MNGIE) is characterized by significant gastrointestinal dysmotility. Early and long-term nutritional therapy is highly recommended. We report a case of MNGIE in a patient who was undergoing long-term nutrition therapy. The patient was diagnosed with a serious symptom of fatty liver and hyperlipidemia complications, along with homozygous mutation of the thymidine phosphorylase (TYMP) gene (c.217G > A). To our knowledge, this is the first report of such a case. Herein, we describe preventive measures for the aforementioned complications and mitochondrial disease-specific nutritional therapy.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of disability, and according to statistics from the World Health Organization, COPD is the fourth leading cause of death overall in the face of decades, and expected to be increased. In 2005, the reported prevalence of COPD in Korea was 17.2% of adults over the age of 45. Malnutrition is a common problem in papatients with COPD. And several nutritional intervention studies showed a significant improvement in physical and functional outcomes. According to the results of previous studies, the nutritional support is important. This is a case report of a patient with COPD who was introduced to a proper diet through nutrition education based on the medical nutrition therapy protocol for COPD.
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As prevalence of metabolic syndrome has rapidly increased over the past decade, lifestyle changes including dietary habits are considered as a therapeutic cornerstone for metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular complications and type 2 diabetes. We evaluated the effectiveness of a telephone-delivered nutrition education to improve metabolic parameters compared with a single-visit with a dietitian in subjects with metabolic syndrome. A total of seventy-one adults who met diagnostic criteria for the metabolic syndrome were randomly assigned to either the single-visit group or the in-depth nutrition education group during a 3-month intervention study period. The in-depth telephone-delivered nutrition education group had an initial visit with a dietitian and additional two telephone counseling during the first 4 weeks of the study periods. Sixty-six subjects completed a 3-month intervention study. The trial examined participant's anthropometric changes and dietary intakes as well as changes in the metabolic syndrome factors. At the end of the trial, the in-depth nutrition education group showed significantly higher reduction in weight, body fat and abdominal circumference compared with the other group (p < 0.05). In the in-depth nutrition groups, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was decreased to 45.5%, while 69.7% of the subjects were metabolic syndrome patients in the single-visit group (p < 0.05). These results demonstrate that the telephone-intervention counseling is a feasible mean to deliver dietary intervention in patients with metabolic syndrome.
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The purpose of our study was to evaluate the dietary intake of kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) and assess oral intake related nutrition problems. Fifty patients who had undergone kidney transplantation were included: 24 males, 26 females. The mean age was 46.8 ± 11.2 years, height was 161.3 ± 8.3 cm, and body weight was 60.5 ± 8.7 kg. We conducted nutrition education based on the diet guideline for KTRs (energy 32 kcal/kg of ideal body weight [IBW], protein 1.3 g/kg of IBW) and neutropenic diet guideline before discharge. Dietary intake of the patients at 1 month after transplantation was investigated by 3-day food records. Body weight and laboratory values for nutritional status and graft function were also collected. Body weight was significantly decreased from admission to discharge. Body weight from discharge to 1 month and 3 months after transplantation was increased but was not significant. Biochemical measurements were generally improved but the number of patients with hypophosphatemia increased. The daily dietary intake of energy and protein was adequate (33.1 kcal/kg, 1.5 g/kg, respectively). However, the dietary intake of calcium, folate, and vitamin C did not meet the Korean Recommended Nutrient Intake of vitamins and minerals (86.8%, 62.4%, and 88.0%, respectively). Patients with low intake of calcium, folate, and vitamin C presented low intake in milk and dairy products, vegetables, and fruits, and these foods were related to restricted food items in neutropenic diet. More attention should be paid on improving quality of diet, and reconsideration of present neutropenic diet guideline is necessary. These results can be used to establish evidence-based medical nutrition therapy guideline for KTRs.
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