Diet Orders
A dietary order is any order that deals with patient nourishment. Patient’s meals in the hospital are frequently referred to as “trays”, as the patients' meals are served to them on cafeteria-type trays.
The NUC is responsible for notifying the dietary dept of any diet orders. This may be done by transcribing the order to a dietary form which is sent to the kitchen, or by computer entry. More information about diet orders to follow in NUCL 152: Patient Chart Records.
The following are examples of acronyms and abbreviations used in dietary orders:
Order | Definition |
c fluid / cl fluid | clear fluids |
DAT | diet as tolerated |
f fluid, fl fluid | full fluids |
free fluids | any and all types of fluids allowed |
NAS | no added salt |
NPO | nil per os (nothing by mouth) |
reg | regular |
trans | transitional |
veg/veg'n | vegetarian |
1800 cal diab | 1800 calorie diabetic |
1800 CDA | 1800 calorie diet according to the Canadian Diabetic Association |
↓ Na, ↓ Na+ | low sodium (arrow down means low, decreased) (Na+ is the chemical sign for sodium) Note: the chemical formula for salt (sodium chloride) is NaCl |
↑ fiber | high fiber (arrow up means high, increased) |
↓ fat | low fat |