Validity of the malnutrition screening tool as an effective predictor of nutritional risk in oncology outpatients receiving chemotherapy.
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.
Isenring
Elisabeth
E
Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia. elisabeth.isenring@flinders.edu.au
Cross
Giordana
G
Daniels
Lynne
L
Kellett
Elizabeth
E
Koczwara
Bogda
B
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
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents