Comparison of Two Nutritional Screening Tools to Detect Nutritional Risk in Haematological Inpatients

• Published in: Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.) Los Angeles County, Calif.), 2016
• Main Authors: Fiol-Martínez, Lucía, RD, Calleja-Fernández, Alicia, RD PhD, Pintor de la Maza, Begoña, RD, Vidal-Casariego, Alfonso, MD PhD, Villar-Taibo, Rocío, MD PhD, Urioste-Fondo, Ana, MD, Cuervo, Marta, RD PhD, Cano-Rodríguez, Isidoro, MD PhD, Ballesteros-Pomar, María D., MD PhD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Gastroenterology and Hepatology
• ISSN: 0899-9007
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nut.2016.09.009

Abstract Objective The aim of the study was to compare two nutritional screening tools in onco-haematological inpatients. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed in a haematology ward from August to December 2015. Within the first 24h of admission, the following nutritional screenings were performed: Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST) and Subjective Global Assessment (SGA). Patients who stayed in the haematological ward were reevaluated with the three screening tools one and two weeks after their admission. The SGA was used as the gold standard in the detection of malnutrition. Results A total of 63 patients were included in the study – 61.9% men, aged 64.0 (SD 17.9) years – with 90.5% having a diagnosis of cancer. The prevalence of patients with nutritional risk at admission was 17.5% with SGA, 16.7% at the first week, and 31.6% at the second week. According to MST, the prevalence was 41.3% at admission, 13.9% at the first week, and 15.8% at the second week. According to MUST, the prevalence was 36.5%, 25.0%, and 36.8%, respectively. The results of diagnostic tests on admission were an AUC ROC of 0.691 for MST and 0.830 for MUST at admission; at the first week, 0.717 for MST and 0.850 for MUST; and at the second week of assessment, 0.506 for MST and 0.840 for MUST. Conclusion MUST might be a better screening tool compared to MST for detecting the risk of malnutrition in onco-haematological inpatients.