Careful assessment of nutritional needs of dogs and cats must be taken into consideration in order to maintain optimum health, be part of a treatment regimen for a diseased state, or to maximise the quality of life in all animals. Therefore, the goal of these WSAVA Guidelines is that a nutritional assessment and specific nutritional recommendation be made on every patient on every visit. This will become known as the 5th Vital Assessment (5VA), following the four vital assessments of temperature, pulse, respiration and pain that are already addressed on each patient interaction. Routinely doing a brief screening evaluation of the nutritional status during history taking and the physical examination can be seamlessly performed as part of every patient exam. Nutrition-related risk factors that can be easily identified from the history and physical examination include age (growing or old), suboptimal body condition score (overweight or thin), muscle loss, atypical or homemade diet, medical conditions, or changes in appetite. An extended evaluation would follow, if one or more risk factors is identified on screening. These guidelines provide criteria to evaluate the animal and the diet, as well as key feeding and environmental factors. In addition, recommendations for interpretation, analysis, and action are included so that a plan for optimising the animal's nutritional status can be instituted. Client compliance with nutritional recommendations requires input from the veterinarian, veterinary technicians/nurses, and the hospital staff. A team approach to continuous nutritional education, implementation of appropriate protocols, and focused client communication, utilising these WSAVA Nutritional Guidelines, are key components to reach this 5VA goal.

Una cuidadosa evaluacion de las necesidades nutricionales de perros y gatos debe considerarse para mantener una salud optima, como parte del tratamiento de enfermedades o para maximizar la calidad de vida en todos los animales. Por este motivo, el objetivo de esta guia de WSAVA es que se realice una evaluacion nutricional y una recomendacion nutricional especifica en cada paciente y en cada visita. Esto sera reconocido como la 5ta evaluacion vital (5VA por sus siglas en ingles), siguiendo a los otros signos vitales de temperatura, pulso, respiracion y evaluacion del dolor que ya se tienen en cuenta en cada visita con el paciente. Realizar una breve evaluacion del estado nutricional de rutina cuando se hace la historia y el examen clinico puede hacerse como parte de la revision del paciente. Los factores de riesgo nutricionales que pueden ser identificados facilmente por la historia clinica y el examen fisico incluyen: edad (en crecimiento o adultos mayores), indice de condicion corporal sub-optimo (sobrepeso o delgado), perdida de masa muscular, dieta atipica o casera, condiciones medicas o cambios en el apetito. Debera hacerse una evaluacion mas profunda si uno o mas factores han sido identificados. Esta guia provee un criterio para evaluar al animal y la dieta, y tambien factores clave de alimentacion y ambientales. Adicionalmente se incluyen recomendaciones para interpretacion, analisis y accion para que se pueda instituir un plan para optimizar el estado nutricional del animal. El cumplimiento por el dueno de las recomendaciones nutricionales requiere un trabajo conjunto del veterinario, tecnicos o enfermeros veterinarios y demas personal de la clinica. Utilizar esta guia nutricional de WSAVA trabajando con el equipo en la educacion nutricional continua, realizando la implementacion de los protocolos apropiados y enfocandose en la comunicacion con el cliente son componentes clave para alcanzar el objetivo de la evaluacion del 5to signo vital.

OBJECTIVES:Careful assessment of the nutritional needs of cats and dogs must be taken into consideration in order to maintain optimum health, be part of a treatment regimen for a diseased state, or to maximize the quality of life in all animals. The goal of these World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) Guidelines is that a nutritional assessment and specific nutritional recommendation is made for every patient on every visit. This will become known as the 5th Vital Assessment (5VA), following the four vital assessments of temperature, pulse, respiration and pain that are already addressed on each patient interaction. EVALUATION OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS:A brief screening evaluation of nutritional status can be routinely and seamlessly performed during the history-taking and physical examination of every patient. Nutrition-related risk factors that can be easily identified from the history and physical examination include age (growing or old), suboptimal body condition score (overweight or thin), muscle loss, atypical or homemade diet, medical conditions or changes in appetite. An extended evaluation would follow if one or more risk factors is identified on screening. These guidelines provide criteria with which to evaluate the animal and the diet, as well as key feeding and environmental factors. In addition, recommendations for interpretation, analysis and action are included so that a plan for optimizing the animal's nutritional status can be instituted. TEAM APPROACH:Client compliance with nutritional recommendations requires input from the veterinarian, veterinary technicians/nurses and hospital staff. A team approach to continuous nutritional education, implementation of appropriate protocols, and focused client communication, utilizing these WSAVA Nutritional Assessment Guidelines, is key to reaching this 5VA goal.