The clinical nutritional assessment method involves the examination of physical signs and symptoms important in detecting nutritional concerns. This approach entails the identification of particular signs and symptoms associated with a particular nutrition condition or deficiency. The practitioner observes particular signs from the client, and utilizes that information to form a nutrition diagnosis. For instance, the practitioner can observe that client has sparse hair, changes in skin colour and oedema, which are indicative of protein- energy malnutrition or he or she can observe corneal xerosis and bitot spots which are indicative of vitamin A deficiency. In addition to observing clinical signs, the physician may request client to confirm any symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, tiredness.
Clinical assessment especially for nutrition deficiencies is determined by identifying the signs and symptoms related to a particular nutrient deficiency. In the case of iron deficiency, for example, the clinician may identify signs such as anaemia, fatigue , dizziness , pale skin and confirm if the patient has symptoms such as tiredness and dizziness .
Importantly however is that in multiple cases the clinical assessment approach is normally combined with other methods e.g .bio-chemical or dietary assessment methods for better accuracy. This is because certain signs and symptoms i.e. anaemia, fatigue may indicate several nutritional deficiencies. Therefore, to determine a particular nutrition diagnosis accurately, the clinical approach is usually utilized along with other methods. Moreover, it is rare that a nutritional deficiency is explicitly resultant from the absence of a particular nutrient.
Apart from nutritional deficiencies, nutrition- related metabolic conditions such as hyperlipidemia can also be identified through clinical assessment with signs such as xanthomas -tumors around joints of legs or hands, corneal arcus-white ring around the eyes and xanthelasma -yellow flat or raised growths around eyes indicating the condition, although a laboratory test is usually performed on serum and lipid levels to determine the diagnosis.
Clinical assessment method is an element of nutrition assessment. It involves identifying the signs and symptoms of a condition. It is normally used with other nutrition assessment methods for accurate evaluations.