Authors
- Sanja Juretić, Doctoral student of Social Gerontology, Alma Mater Europaea University, Maribor, Slovenia; Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Clinic of Surgery, Rijeka, Croatia; University of Rijeka, Faculty of Health Studies, Department of Nursing, Rijeka, Croatia
Article type:
Review
Abstract:
Colon cancer presents a significant public health issue in Croatia today. It causes an increased number of cases and deaths. The risk of illness increases with aging, with the elderly being the most vulnerable. One symptom of the disease is weight loss, which, without timely nutritional status assessment and nutritional replenishment, leads to malnutrition. During the postoperative period, malnutrition can cause numerous complications, prolonging and slowing patient recovery. Since the nutritional status of patients with colon malignancies plays a significant role in recovery after surgery, it is necessary to include a diet program as part of preoperative preparation, medical treatment, and post-hospitalization care. When diagnosing, it is important to evaluate nutritional status and introduce enteral preparations as substitute therapy. Starving before surgery and exclusively using parenteral nutrition afterward is no longer part of the patient treatment protocol. During this period, oral enteral preparations are recommended. Frequent nutritional status assessments and the introduction of enteral preparations as dietary supplements facilitate and accelerate patient recovery after surgery and improve quality of life. Nurses play a significant role in assessing patient nutritional status and nutrition. They perform measurements and status evaluations, collecting important data to determine the type and amount of enteral preparations and individualized menus for each patient.
Keywords:
Connection, disabled children, environment, family,
service dogs, well-being