title: Validity of the malnutrition screening tool as an effective predictor of nutritional risk in oncology outpatients receiving chemotherapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the relative validity of the Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST) compared with a full nutrition assessment by the scored Patient Generated-Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) and to assess MST inter-rater reliability in patients receiving chemotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted at an Australian public hospital in 50 oncology outpatients receiving chemotherapy. Inter-rater reliability was assessed in a subsample of 20 patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  According to PG-SGA global rating, the prevalence of malnutrition was 26%. The MST was a strong predictor of nutritional risk relative to the PG-SGA (100% sensitivity, 92% specificity, 0.8 positive predictive value, 1.0 negative predictive value). MST inter-rater reliability was acceptable with agreement by administration staff/nursing staff/patient and the dietitian in 18/20 cases (kappa=0.83; p0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The MST has acceptable relative validity, inter-rater reliability, sensitivity, and specificity to identify chemotherapy outpatients at risk of malnutrition and, hence, is an acceptable nutrition screening tool in this patient population.
authors.affiliation: Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia. elisabeth.isenring@flinders.edu.au
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Isenring
authors.forename: Giordana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cross
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Daniels
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kellett
authors.forename: Bogda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Koczwara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D015588:Observer Variation; D010045:Outpatients; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents