Assessment of Malnutrition Risk in Canadian Pediatric Hospitals: A Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence, causes, and consequences of malnutrition, as well as the evolution of nutritional status, in Canadian pediatric health care institutions. STUDY DESIGN: In this multicenter prospective cohort study, a total of 371 patients were recruited from pediatric hospitals in 5 Canadian provinces. Subjects were aged 1 month to 18 years; admitted to a medical, surgical, or oncology ward; and had a planned hospital stay of >48 hours. Data on demographics, medical condition, anthropometric measures, and dietary intake were collected. The Screening Tool Risk on Nutritional Status and Growth (STRONGkids) and Subjective Global Nutritional Assessment (SGNA) were applied at admission. Malnutrition was defined as a weight-for-age, height-for-age, body mass index-for-age, or weight-for-length/height z score <-2 SD. RESULTS: Among 307 subjects (median age, 5.3 years; median length of stay, 5 days), 19.5% were malnourished on admission. Both STRONGkids and SGNA classifications were associated with baseline nutritional status. Mean weight-for-age z score was lower at discharge compared with admission (-0.14 vs -0.09; P < .01), and nearly one-half of all patients lost weight during their hospital stay. Only one-half of the children who were malnourished or screened as high risk of malnutrition were visited by a dietitian during their stay. The percentage of patients who lost weight during hospitalization was significantly greater in the group not visited by a dietitian (76.5 vs 23.5%; P < .01). CONCLUSION: Nutritional status deterioration and malnutrition are common in hospitalized Canadian children. Screening tools, anthropometric measurements, and dietitian consultation should be used to establish adequate nutritional support.

Revisión de diferentes herramientas de tamizaje nutricional para pacientes hospitalizados / Review of different nutritional screening tools for hospitalized patients

Introducción: la prevalencia de malnutrición clínica se encuentra entre el 20% al 50% de los pacientes hospitalizados. El tamizaje nutricional es esencial para poder identificar aquellos pacientes en riesgo de malnutrición y es el primer paso del proceso de atención nutricional. Objetivo: realizar una revisión bibliográfica de las diferentes herramientas validadas de tamizaje nutricional para pacientes hospitalizados. Materiales y método: se realizó una búsqueda bibliográfica de trabajos de comparación de herramientas de tamizaje nutricional en las bases de datos de Pubmed, Scielo y Lilacs desde 2007 a 2017, más los artículos originales de los métodos. Las palabras claves fueron: herramientas de tamizaje nutricional, evaluación nutricional, malnutrición, pacientes hospitalizados. Se incluyeron todos aquellos artículos en idioma español e inglés. Se identificaron 82 artículos de los cuales se seleccionaron 11 que incluyeron población mayor de 18 años de edad y los estudios originales y de comparación de las herramientas de tamizaje nutricional validadas. Se excluyeron todas aquellas publicaciones de estudios con una muestra menor a 60 y evaluación de tamizaje nutricional para grupos de riesgo específicos. Desarrollo: se analizaron 11 estudios que comparan métodos de tamizaje nutricional. Las herramientas incluidas fueron: VGS, MNA, MNA-SF, MST, NRS-2002, MUST, SNAQ y CONUT. Los estudios resultaron ser heterogéneos en cuanto a las características de la población evaluada, número de pacientes, análisis estadístico, herramientas empleadas y patrones de comparación. Conclusión: es importante contar con una herramienta de tamizaje para detectar aquellos pacientes que se encuentren en riesgo de malnutrición y realizar una intervención temprana. El tamizaje nutricional es una estrategia de priorización que busca determinar la importancia y/o la urgencia de la intervención nutricional. La aplicación de procesos sistemáticos de detección de riesgo nutricional es esencial para poder realizar una intervención oportuna, tanto para disminuir la morbilidad, la mortalidad del paciente y mejorar su calidad de vida como para disminuir los costos que ésta genera(AU).

Introduction: the prevalence of clinical malnutrition among hospitalized patients ranges between 20% and 50%. Nutritional screening is essential to identify those patients at risk of malnutrition and constitutes the first step towards nutrition care process. Aim: to carry out a literature review of the different validated nutritional screening tools for hospitalized patients. Materials and Methods: a review of nutritional screening tools in the databases Pubmed, Scielo and Lilacs from 2007 to 2017, plus the original articles of the screening tools methods. The key words were: nutritional screening tools, nutritional assessment, malnutrition, hospitalized patients. All articles in Spanish and English were included. 82 particles were identified, out of which 11 included a population over 18 years old, plus the original works, and those of comparison of the nutritional screening tools that were validated. It were excluded studies with sample number under 60 and with nutritional screening tools for specific risk groups. Results: 11 studies that compare nutritional screening tools were identified. The tools included were: SGA, MNA, MNA-SF, MST, NRS-2002, MUST, SNAQ and CONUT. The studies turned out to be heterogeneous regarding characteristics of the population assessed, number of patients, statistical analysis, tools used and comparison patterns. Conclusion: It is important to count on a malnutrition screening tool to detect those patients at risk of malnutrition, in order to do early intervention. Nutritional screening is a strategy to prioritize the importance and/ or urgency of nutritional intervention. The application of systematic processes for the detection of nutritional risk is essential to carry out a timely intervention, so as to decrease the patient's morbidity and mortality, to improve his/her quality of life, and to diminish the costs generated(AU).