Aerodigestive problems include a variety of conditions that affect the respiratory and digestive systems. Children with such conditions may have issues with their breathing, feeding, swallowing or growth. Nutritional deficiencies are commonly seen in aerodigestive population due to alternations in intake, losses and metabolism.
Kwong Wah Hospital adopts a multi-disciplinary approach in management of aerodigestive problems in children. Dietitian is one of the multi-disciplinary team members working closely with doctor, nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist, physiotherapist and speech therapist throughout the care for patients.
Dietitian will carry out nutrition assessment, sometimes jointly with speech therapist, on a child's diet history and related feeding behaviours in order to identify the nutritional need, deficiencies and problems. Particular focus will be on intake of energy, protein, fluid and other micronutrients such as vitamin D and calcium. The nutrition intervention and feeding plan will be discussed at multi-disciplinary team meeting to ensure it incorporates the inputs from other disciplines in terms of the child's developmental stage, medical needs, and oro-motor function etc. The progress and outcomes of nutrition intervention will be monitored and evaluated regularly during the child's clinical admission for multi-disciplinary assessment and meeting. Outcome measurements include growth velocity and the adequacy of nutrients from oral diet and/or tube feeding. For those who require intensive nutrition care, dietetic out-patient clinic will also be arranged between the clinical admissions.
