Evaluation of a new digital pediatric malnutrition risk screening tool for hospitalized children with congenital heart disease

• Published in: BMC pediatrics 2023-03, Vol.23 (1), p.126-8, Article 126
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yajie, Lu, Lina, Yang, Ling, Yan, Weihui, Yu, Qun, Sheng, Jinye, Mao, Xiaomeng, Feng, Yi, Tang, Qingya, Cai, Wei, Wang, Ying
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Cardiovascular disease; Child; Child, Hospitalized; Child, Preschool; Complications and side effects; Congenital diseases; Congenital heart disease; Cyanosis; Diagnosis; Digital technology; Equipment and supplies; Health risks; Heart; Heart Defects, Congenital - complications; Heart Defects, Congenital - diagnosis; Hospitalization; Humans; Independent sample; Infant; Length of stay; Malnutrition; Malnutrition - diagnosis; Malnutrition - epidemiology; Malnutrition - etiology; Malnutrition in children; Medical screening; Nutrition; Nutritional Status; Overweight; Parenteral nutrition; Pediatrics; Prospective Studies; Risk factors; Software
• ISSN: 1471-2431; 1471-2431
• DOI: 10.1186/s12887-023-03899-1

In a cohort of hospitalized children with congenital heart disease (CHD), a new digital pediatric malnutrition screening tool as a mobile application was validated, and its effectiveness and clinical value were determined as a prospective study. Children with CHD (n = 1125) were screened for malnutrition risk. The incidence of risk and the differences among various age groups and types of CHD were characterized. The optimal threshold for the tool to determine if there is a risk of malnutrition is score 2, while the Youden index was 79.1%, and the sensitivity and specificity were 91.2% and 87.9%, respectively. Based on such criterion, 351 children were at risk of malnutrition accounting for 31.20% of the total. Compared with the non-malnutritional risk group, the median age for the group at risk for malnutrition was younger (8.641 months [4.8, 23.1] vs. 31.589 months [12.4, 54.3], P