W5 L1 - Intro to Vitamins and Minerals Flashcards

1
Q

Role of vitamins and minerals

A
  • necessary in small amounts for life and growth
  • involved in metabolism, cell reproduction, tissue repair
  • can act as co-factors for enzymes
  • can have an anti-oxidant effect
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2
Q

effect of vitamin/mineral deficiencies

A
  • disease
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3
Q

what are vitamins

A
  • Organic molecules
  • Obtain from food or supplements - body does not make sufficient quantities
  • Only two vitamins (vitamin d and vitamin k) can be made by the body from non-dietary sources
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4
Q

examples of water soluble vitamins

A

Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid)
Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
Vitamin B3 (niacin)
Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
Vitamin B7 (biotin)
Vitamin B9 (folate/folic acid)
Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)

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5
Q

where are water soluble vitamins absorbed

A
  • most in upper small intestine (duodenum)
  • vitamin B12 is an exemption, absorbed in ileum by binding to intrinsic factors
  • rapid absorption
  • vitamin b12 and folate (b9) absorption independent of sodium but others are absorbed by sodium cotransporters
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6
Q

examples of fat-soluble vitamins

A

Vitamin A
Vitamin D
Vitamin E (tocopheryl)
Vitamin K

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7
Q

where are fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed

A
  • by bile in large intestine
  • Absorption can be reduced if fat absorption is decreased e.g. by lack of pancreatic enzymes/low fat diet
  • Vitamin K – many subtypes produced by GI flora from original plant sources then absorbed
  • Vitamin D – dietary but also synthesised in skin via cholesterol by sunlight
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8
Q

which types of vitamins are stored

A
  • fat-soluble
  • water soluble aren’t stored
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9
Q

Examples of vitamin deficiencies

A

A - Poor night vision/night blindness
B1 - Fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, GI effects
B2 - Soreness of mouth and tongue, itching eyes, loss of vision
B3 - GI effects, skin changes, tremors
B5 - Fatigue, heart and digestive issues
B6 - Depression, vomiting, increased susceptibility to disease, anaemia
B7 - Skin inflammation, conjunctivitis
B9 (folic acid) - Anaemia, digestive disorders, palpitations, behavioural disorders
B12 - Pernicious anaemia and neurological issues
C - Scurvy, aching joints, generalised weakness
D - Bone changes e.g. osteoporosis, poor immune function
E - Anaemia and nerve damage
K - abnormal clotting

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10
Q

what are minerals and their function

A
  • inorganic substances
  • functions - Formation of bones and teeth
    Essential constituents of body fluids, tissues and blood
    Components of enzyme systems
    Nerve function
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11
Q

examples of minerals

A

Calcium
Sodium
Magnesium
Potassium
Chloride
Phosphorus
Iron
Iodine
Selenium
Zinc
Copper

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12
Q

sources of minerals

A
  • Food and supplements
  • No one food provides all
  • Need healthy balanced diet
  • Water is also a source
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13
Q

absorption of minerals affected by

A
  • Presence of other minerals/vitamins
  • Components found in food
    Amount of mineral already in body
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14
Q

Mineral deficiencies

A
  • Potassium and Magnesium - cardiac arrhythmias
  • Calcium and Magnesium - osteoporosis
  • Calcium and Magnesium - muscle cramps and tetany
  • Zinc - hair loss and poor wound healing
  • Iron - anaemia
  • Copper - Wilson’s disease
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15
Q

What are DRVs

A
  • Dietary Reference Values (DRVs).
  • These are a series of estimates of the energy and nutritional requirements of different groups of healthy people in the UK population. They are not recommendations or goals for individuals
  • Reference Nutrient Intakes (RNIs)
  • Lower Reference Nutrient Intakes (LRNIs)
  • Estimated Average Requirements (EARs)
  • Safe Intake

For most vitamins and minerals, DRVs are given as RNIs

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16
Q

Recommendation during pregnancy

A
  • 400μg folic acid supplement daily until 12th week of pregnancy
  • Prevents birth defects of the central nervous system
  • If family history of neural tube defects - higher dose of 5mg of folic acid daily recommended
  • Women with diabetes and those taking anti-epileptic medicines may also need to take a higher dose of folic acid
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17
Q

Recommendation for children

A

Vitamin D
- Breastfed babies (birth to one year of age) - daily supplement containing 8.5 - 10μg of vitamin D
- Babies fed infant formula – not required unless < 500ml of infant formula a day as formula milk fortified
- Children aged 1 to 4 years old - daily supplement containing 10μg of vitamin D
- Considera vitamin D supplement containing 400–600 international units (IU) daily age 4-18
NICE CKS vitamin d deficiency children

Vitamins A and C
- Children aged six months to five years – daily supplement of vitamins A and C (often combined with vitamin D)
- Precautionary measure - ensure requirements are met (difficult to be certain diet provides a reliable source)
- Babies fed infant formula – not required until receiving less than 500ml of infant formula a day

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18
Q

Vitamin D recommendations

A
  • Adults with risk factors should take a daily supplement containing 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D throughout the year
  • Other adults should consider taking a daily supplement containing 400 IU of vitamin D, particularly in the autumn and winter
  • Do not routinely monitor serum vitamin D levels
  • Check calcium intake
  • Lifestyle advice to reduce risk of deficiency

People at higher risk of deficiency include those:
- With limited sun exposure
- With dark skin (for example African, African-Caribbean, or Asian or Middle-Eastern ethnic origin)

Vitamin D deficiency can also occur in people who:
- Are at increased risk of nutritional deficiency
- Are pregnant or breastfeeding
Are elderly (65 years and older)
- Have certain conditions or are taking certain drugs
- Are obese or have had gastric bypass surgery
- Have a family history of vitamin D deficiency

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19
Q

What’s the healthy start scheme

A

Pregnant or child under 4 - could get Healthy Start vouchers to help buy some basic foods and supplements

20
Q

Additional groups of people who may benefit from supplementation

A
  • Some vegans
  • People in certain demographic groups
  • Chronic alcoholism - poor diet and poor GI absorption
  • Innate GI malabsorption e.g. coeliac, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
  • Chronic kidney disease (CKD) – vitamin D
  • If prescribed certain medications e.g. isonazid
21
Q

What’s fortification

A

adding vitamins, minerals, or other nutrients to food and beverages that don’t naturally contain them or contain them in lower amounts

22
Q

examples of fortification

A

Addition of nutrients to appropriate food vehicles e.g.
- Vitamin D fortified margarine
- B vitamins and iron in cereals
- White and brown flour fortified with calcium, iron, thiamine and niacin
- Fluoride in drinking water

23
Q

Considerations with Supplements

A
  • Market for dietary supplements grown dramatically over past 30 years
  • They do not make a bad diet good!
  • Most used by the “worried well”
    What are they:
  • Contain vitamins, minerals and often other ingredients
  • People believe they will have a beneficial effect on health
  • Beliefs encouraged by media and marketing - targeted to demographics i.e. young men, older women, children, stressful jobs etc.
  • Lacking in evidence - often anecdotal, misinterpretations of research
24
Q

Problems with Supplements

A
  • Toxicity and accumulation e.g. iron
  • Supplements are expensive
  • Cause complacency - bad diet
  • Legal status practically no control
  • Dose, claims quality control, availability
  • Not viewed as a medicine – thus difficult to offer advice
  • Interactions with medicines
  • Good Practice – Always ask patients about any supplement they take
25
Q

Role of pharmacist

A
  • Advice to public about healthy diet
  • Identification of patients who may benefit from additional supplementation
  • Aware of common symptoms of deficiency
  • Be able to recommend appropriate supplements
  • Prevent interactions
  • Not for profit!
26
Q

What’s malnutrition

A
  • “poor nutrition” and can refer to:
  • undernutrition – not getting enough nutrients
  • overnutrition - getting more nutrients than needed leads to obesity
27
Q

More on malnutrition

A
  • Malnutrition is both a cause and a consequence of ill health. Increases a patient’s vulnerability to disease.
  • Methods to improve or maintain nutritional intake are known as nutrition support
  • These methods can improve outcomes, but decisions on the most effective and safe methods are complex
28
Q

Consequences of malnutrition

A

Lots including:
- Loss of muscle massand weakness/functional decline
- Psychological effects such as apathy and depression
Impaired immune function (reduced immune response) - increased infection risk
- Delayed wound healing
- Delayed recovery from illness
- Increased risk of morbidity(including hospitalisation) and mortality

29
Q

Types of Nutritional Support

A
  • Modified texture diet e.g. softened diet, pureed
  • Intravenous fluids - hydration
  • Oral nutrition support – for example, fortified food, additional snacks and/or sip feeds/drinks
  • Enteral tube feeding – the delivery of a nutritionally complete feed directly into the gut via a tube
  • Total parenteral nutrition(TPN) - the delivery of nutrition intravenously
30
Q

Indications for nutritional support?

A
  • Patients who can’t meet their requirements by eating and drinking ‘normally’
    Usual normal feeding aim:
  • Energy: 25-35 kcal/kg/day
  • Protein 0.8-1.5g kg/day
  • Fluid: 30-35 ml/kg/day
  • Adequate electrolytes, minerals, micronutrients and fibre

Note that this may vary depending on clinical circumstance

31
Q

Oral Nutritional Support

A

Sip feeds:
Milk-based
- Ready to drink e.g. Fortisip
- Powdered supplements e.g. Complan

Fruit juice based e.g. Fortijuice

  • Semi-solid feeds
  • High protein supplements
  • Energy supplements
  • Additional snacks
32
Q

Prescribing Oral Nutritional Support

A
  • BNF borderline substances
  • Prescribed in certain circumstances
  • Most patients – not required long-term
  • Some can also be purchased but patient should be under healthcare professional supervision
33
Q

Enteral Tube Feeding

A
  • Most malnourished people have a functioning GI tract capable of absorbing nutrients
  • If inadequate or unsafe oral intake and functioning/accessible GI tract – enteral tube feeding
  • Enteral tubes cab be placed through nose or through abdominal wall
  • Nasogastric tube (NG) or nasojejunal (NJ) - fine bore tube
    Access for up to 6 weeks
  • Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) or Percutaneous endoscopic jejunostomy (PEJ)
    Access for over 6 weeks
34
Q

What’s a PEG Tube

A

is a feeding tube inserted into the stomach through the abdominal wall for people who can’t eat normally. It’s placed using an endoscope and is used for long-term nutrition support.

35
Q

Indications for Enteral Nutrition

A
  • Eating & swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) - facial injury or surgery, neurological impairment, post-radiotherapy
  • Severe intestinal malabsorption e.g. Crohn’s disease, major GI surgery
  • Increased nutritional requirements e.g. severe burns
  • Eating disorders - anorexia nervosa
  • Self neglect – intentional/non-intentional
  • Chronic vomiting and diarrhoea not responding to treatment
36
Q

Problems with Enteral Nutrition

A
  • Diarrhoea
  • Regurgitation
  • Taste and patient acceptability
  • Abdominal distension
  • Blocked feeding tubing
  • Problems with the pump
  • Placement of an external
  • Dislocation of tubes esp. NG
37
Q

Administration of medicines via enteral feeding tubes

A

May get asked to advise on administration of medicines via enteral feeding tubes or possible interactions
- Use liquid preparation where available
- Give each drug separately
- Flush with >20ml water, before and after each drug
- Not for m/r, e/c, cytotoxic
- Crushed tablets may block tube – check resources

38
Q

Oral Syringes

A
  • Patient Safety Alert – Promoting safer measurement and administration of liquid medicines via oral and other enteral routes (2007)
  • This alert is the key source for the recommendation that intravenous syringes are not used to measure and administer oral liquid medication; only approved oral/enteral (EnFit) syringes that cannot be connected to intravenous catheters or ports should be used.
  • Patients or carers who need to administer oral liquid medicines with a syringe must be supplied with approved oral or enteral (EnFit) syringes (not compatible with IV lines)
  • Syringes should be of a different colour and marked oral/enteral
39
Q

Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN)

A
  • Only when enteral route is not an option as GI tract is
    Non-functional
    Inaccessible
    Perforated
  • Cannot take anything by mouth or via GI tract e.g. dysphagic post stroke, trauma, surgery
  • “Gut failure” - unable to digest and absorb food
  • The GI tract may be unavailable or unable to absorb nutrients
  • May be short or long-term
40
Q

Indications for TPN (Short term)

A

Short-term” – acute intestinal failure

  • Awaiting feeding tubes
  • Bowel obstruction
  • Following major excisional surgery
  • ICU patients with multi-organ system failure
  • Minority of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
  • Severe pancreatitis
  • Pre-term neonates
41
Q

Indications for TPN (Long term)

A

Long-term TPN – chronic intestinal failure
- Radiation enteritis
- Crohn’s disease following multiple resections
- Motility disorderse.g.scleroderma
- Bowel Infarction
- Cancer surgery

42
Q

TPN Administration

A

Generally infused over 24 hours
“Central administration” – into major vein due to high osmolality
- Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC)
- Hickman Line
- A “Central Line” into major vein:

43
Q

Choice of TPN

A
  • Dedicated nutritional ward round – multidisciplinary
  • Build calories up slowly
  • Nutritionally complete - composition may vary day-to-day e.g. vitamins
  • All-in-one mixtures - Can add additions to bags
  • “Off the shelf” e.g. Kabiven, Oliclinomel
  • Tailor made bags (“scratch regimens”)
  • Made up from individual ingredients in Aseptic Pharmacy Departments/Suppliers
44
Q

Components of TPN

A

Macronutrients:
- Nitrogen (Protein)
- Glucose (Carbohydrate)
- Fat (Lipid) (not in all bags)
- Fluid
Micronutrients:
- Vitamins
- Minerals – electrolytes and trace elements

45
Q

Complications of TPN

A
  • Air embolism/Insertion problems
  • Catheter blockage
  • Line Infections
  • Metabolic problems e.g. hypo/hyper-glycaemia, impaired liver function
  • Bone Disease
  • Refeeding syndrome - Severe electrolyte and fluid shifts (intracellular) associated with metabolic abnormalities in malnourished patients undergoing refeeding