Computer-implemented nutrition support of phenylketonuria.

This project demonstrates that computers can fill diet prescriptions for nutrition support but only if nutritionists who know how to fill diet prescriptions do the programming. The computer can provide information that is required to improve nutrition support, as well as save time that the dietitian can use in patient education. The computer, however, cannot replace the dietitian. It merely performs mathematical calculations. Establishment of the diet prescription, choice of products, and the use of the final formula and foods require trained judgment used in conjunction with appropriate clinical and laboratory data.