Should a patient with pancreatitis drink regular soda?

[Smokey9283]

I have patient that has been admitted with pancreatitis. Is it ok for him to have regular sprite? I am thinking not, but looking for the right answer.

[CraigB-RN, MSN, RN]

OK Playing the Devil's advocate here, why do you think the patient should have a sprite? Is the patient on some special diet, NPO, Clear liquid, etc?

[pebbles, BSN, RN]

The goal of treatment in pancreatitis is to rest the pancreas. Most patients (especially newly admitted ones) are at least NPO. If they need feeding, and the pancreatitis is still severe, we insert a feeding tube into the small bowel (ie past the stomach, where the pancreas will be less likely to get stimulated into action).

As to whether a person with pancreatitis can drink regular soda - depends on how severe the pancreatitis is, the diet that is ordered by the physician and whatever is covered by that diet's protocol in your facility.

YOu always have to check blood sugars frequently in pancreatitis patients, and take this into consideration with any diet plan. Some do need insulin.

[suzanne4, RN]

Pts with pancreatitis are usually NPO by mouth and are fed via a Dobhoff tube into the small intestine to let things rest as mentioned above.

One of the major issues with the pancreas is that it is not producing insulin or working properly, so giving a patient a soda high in sugar would not be advisable either; if they could have something.

But you are going to need to get the specifics for this patient from their provider to begin with. Not something that you should just assume.

[Spritenurse1210, BSN, RN]

Patients with pancreatitis usually are NPO

[Smokey9283]

This patient was NPO for for 3 days and now is advance as tolerated, so we thought that we should start him out with clear liquids and then move onto bland foods. The RN that was in charge of this patient said that it would be ok to give him regular sprite if he desired, but just as someone above had mentioned this concerned me because of the amount of sugar in pop and how affected the pancreas is.

[Smokey9283]

Thanks that is pretty much what I was looking for.

[Smokey9283]

I don't think that he should have a sprite. Actually I think that giving him sprite would be to his detrimate.

[pebbles, BSN, RN]

I don't think that he should have a sprite. Actually I think that giving him sprite would be to his detrimate.

Probably best to check with his doctor, who will know how inflamed the pancreas is. If the pot does fine and his blood sugars are normal, it may not be harming him.

[Bocephus71RN-BSN, BSN, RN]

NPO diet advance as tolerated I always start out with ice chips for awhile first.

[core0]

This patient was NPO for for 3 days and now is advance as tolerated, so we thought that we should start him out with clear liquids and then move onto bland foods. The RN that was in charge of this patient said that it would be ok to give him regular sprite if he desired, but just as someone above had mentioned this concerned me because of the amount of sugar in pop and how affected the pancreas is.

Most patients with pancreatitis require less than 4 days of NPO. Similarly most patients without diabetes do not develop diabetes from the pancreatitis. It is more common in chronic pancreatitis especially those that develop pseudocysts in the tail.

You did avoid one of the most common problems with advancing diet in pancreatitis. The common surgical approach is to go CL >>> FL >>> regular diet. This is mostly for reasons of gut motility. However, if you consider that FL is CL plus things with a lot of fat in them such as ice cream, you can see what the problem is. I generally specify CL to bland low fat. This usually works better.

There is a lot of dissension about treating pancreatitis. Feeding the stomach vs. Feeding in the jejunum. I think that most people are convinced that enteral feeding is better than TPN but you still see some pancreatitis patients on TPN.

Even sugary meals is somewhat controversial. There is a school of thought that says you do not need to be NPO just avoid fat. This school says that carbohydrate rich meals (ie Sprite) are OK even with severe pancreatitis. There is some evidence that any food provokes amylase and lipase production and may worsen pancreatitis but its pretty weak.

I was taught to keep the patient NPO until the patient clinically resolves (in adults when they are hungry is the best indication in my opinion). Then CL and advance to bland low fat. You will still find some people that are bothered by sugary meals in any case. My advice then is to avoid things that bother them.

Good luck

David Carpenter, PA-C