A 64-year-old woman with moderately severe COPD comes to the pulmonary clinic for her quarterly checkup. The APRN reviewing the chart notes that the patient has lost 5% of her body weight since her last visit. The APRN questions the patient and patient admits to not having much of an appetite and she also admits to missing some meals because it “takes too much work” to cook and consume dinner.

A 64-year-old woman with moderately severe COPD comes to the pulmonary clinic for her quarterly checkup. The APRN reviewing the chart notes that the patient has lost 5% of her body weight since her last visit. The APRN questions the patient and patient admits to not having much of an appetite and she also admits to missing some meals because it “takes too much work” to cook and consume dinner.     Question:   The APRN recognizes that COPD has a deleterious effect on patients. Explain why patients with COPD are at risk for malnutrition.
Selected Answer: Most patients diagnosed with COPD are malnourished since they require a diet that is low in carbohydrates to prevent hypercapnia that may occur from the metabolism of CHO. Correct Answer: Many of the patients with severe COPD are lean, and frequently in a malnourished or undernourished state, which is characterized by loss of fat-free body mass causing muscle wasting. The muscle wasting in COPD not only leads to decreased skeletal muscle function associated with reduced exercise capacity but is also a major determinant of mortality in COPD. Patients with COPD require a low carbohydrate diet as increased CHO can lead to hypercapnia as the end products of CHO metabolism are CO2 and H2O. Response Feedback: [None Given]

Order this paper