Help!! Having a hard time with wording this dx!

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I have an elderly patient that has been recently diagnosised with anorexia. I am trying to write a nursing diagnosis for her and am having a hard time with the related to part. Here what I have come up with so far:

Disturbed body image r/t psychosocial adjustment AEB pt stating,"I am too fat" and previous refusal to eat.

It just doesn't sound right to me. Any help that you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Winter

LPN Student

Graduate June 2011

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Specializes in Critical Care.

You could also just call it "anorexia".

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I thought you couldn't use a medical diagnoses for a nursing diadnoses... that would make it much easier...lol. Thank you.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

It's unfortunate that your teachers appear to be puritanical Nursing Diagnosis believers, you should suggest they read "Educating Nurses; A Call for Radical Transformation" by Patricia Benner.

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Specializes in Respiratory, Med/Surg.

Is the dx of anorexia supposed to mean anorexia nervosa the eating disorder, or anorexia being the loss of desire to eat (such as in some cancer pts)?

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Specializes in Emergency.

No, don't just go with anorexia. You're right in that you can't use a medical D(x).

You might be able to get away with psychosocial adjustment, but I feel it needs to be more specific. Nothing about those two words delineates a deficit. Try words likes "impaired..." or "difficulty with...".

A more appropriate R/T may be something like (as Ackley puts it) "r/t psychological impairment" or "r/t misconception of actual body image". With your last mentioned AEB, I'd be more inclined to use the misconception r/t.

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R/T: low self esteem, distorted body image, altered thought process

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Anorexia is a medical d(x)

Try,

Imbalanced nutrition: Less than bodily requirements r/t anorexia nervosa a/e/b patient statements, self-esteem issues, refusal to eat, BMI

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I didn't think you could use a Med DX for your related to

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disturbed body image r/t psychological disorder AEB pt. statements, eating x% of meal, and BMI of x.

Things of that nature..hope it helps

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Imbalanced nutrition: less than body requirements r/t patient's low food intake AEB patient's BMI x%, weight 80 lbs .

Body image is a psycho thing, and physiological (nutrition) should come first.

Your second diagnosis could be "Disturbed body image r/t psychological disorder AEB pt. stating "I'm too fat" while his BMI is x%

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