Quality assurance audit: sodium-restricted menus.

A quality assurance audit was performed to evaluate the accuracy of prescribed sodium-restricted diets received by hospitalized patients. Sodium values were identified for all items on the audited sodium-restricted menu. Actual sodium values of the items to be served in a 24-hour period were tabulated from 48 menus after they had been corrected by the nutrition care clerk and compared with the prescribed sodium level. An acceptable variation of calculated sodium level vs. prescribed sodium level was determined to be plus or minus 10%. Of the sampled menus, 14.6% fell within this range, 22.9% were above, and 62.5% were below the standard set. Results of the audit led to training of clerks in calculation of sodium-restricted menus and inservice programs for all employees involved in patient foodservice regarding sodium-restricted diets. The results of a reaudit performed using the same methods showed a decrease to 12.2% of the menus above the standard and an increase to 26.8% in the number that met the standard, indicating increased accuracy of sodium-restricted diets.