Treatment Modalities In Health Care

Treatment Modalities Education Interventions—Perhaps the most crucial element of the treatment regime is providing the patient/family with dietary counseling. Strict adherence to a lifelong gluten-free diet is currently the only treatment for CD and often leads to the elimination of symptoms and reversal of intestinal damage. Hill (2016) recommends referring a newly diagnosed patient to a registered dietician with expertise in CD to ensure that thorough and accurate advice is provided, including total avoidance of wheat, rye, and barely, reading food labels carefully, and the importance of continued maintenance of a gluten-free lifestyle once symptoms resolve (p. 4). Oats do not intrinsically contain gluten, but often become contaminated
The PCP should make a referral to a gastroenterology for endoscopy with small intestine biopsy when indicated and to a registered dietitian with experience with CD once the diagnosis is made. Hill (2016) highlights the importance of evaluation for nutritional deficiencies, monitoring the response to a gluten-free diet, and encouraging pneumococcal vaccination recommended for the patient’s age due to the association with CD and hyposplenism. Otherwise, Kelly et al. (2016) recommend yearly exams, serology every three to six months until normal and then yearly, bone density screening within first or second year of diagnosis, and liver and thyroid functions every 1-2 years. Repeat biopsies to monitor healing are often performed but not generally recommended. Despite an increased risk for certain cancers in patients with CD, recommended screenings for that of the general
Patients may present asymptomatic or with perplexing symptoms without a clear cause, adding a degree of difficulty to the diagnosis. Our understanding and detection of the condition have blossomed in the past decade, leading to higher known prevalence rates throughout the world, and subsequently greater choice in gluten-free merchandise to ease the transition to the recommended diet. The advances in interventions to treat the disease have, in contrast been limited. Lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet remains the cornerstone of symptom relief and offers the patient with CD the best chance of living a full and healthy life without significant disease