Question

how to write a PES statement for a patient

Answer 1

Ans) A PES statement (or Nutrition Diagnosis Statement) is a structured sentence that describes the specific nutrition problem that you (the dietitian) is responsible for treating and working toward resolving, the cause/s of the problem and the evidence that this problem exists.

- A PES statement is a nutrition diagnosis used in a clinical setting. It consists of the problem (P), the etiology (E) and the signs or symptoms (S).

• The Problem:

- The problem, or nutrition diagnosis, is based on the most urgent issue, with verbiage taken directly from the Nutrition Diagnostic Terminology Sheet.

Frequently used nutrition diagnoses include:

- Inadequate energy intake
- Inadequate oral intake
- Swallowing difficulty
- Altered nutrition-related laboratory values
- Altered GI function
- Malnutrition (specify mild, moderate or severe and context)
- Food/nutrition-related knowledge deficit
- Depending on which nutrition diagnosis you use, you must be able to resolve or improve it.

• The Etiology:
- The etiology is the cause or contributing risk factors of the nutrition diagnosis. It connects to the nutrition diagnosis by the words related to.

- It tells you what type of intervention you need to either treat the nutrition diagnosis or lessen the signs and symptoms.

• The Signs and Symptoms:
- The signs and symptoms are the evidence that supports your nutrition diagnosis. It connects the etiology by the words as evidenced by.

- Commonly used signs and symptoms may include lab values, intake history, nutrition knowledge, anthropometric data or findings from the nutrition focused physical exam.

- You should be able to monitor the signs and symptoms and document if they are resolved or improved.

PES Statement Example:

P: Inadequate energy intake related to…
E: Decreased appetite secondary to chronic COPD as evidenced by…
S: Consuming less than 75% of estimated energy needs for 1 month and unintentional weight loss of 6% in 1 month.