title: Simple Nutrition Screening Tool for Pediatric Inpatients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pediatric nutrition risk screening tools are not routinely implemented throughout many hospitals, despite prevalence studies demonstrating malnutrition is common in hospitalized children. Existing tools lack the simplicity of those used to assess nutrition risk in the adult population. This study reports the accuracy of a new, quick, and simple pediatric nutrition screening tool (PNST) designed to be used for pediatric inpatients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The pediatric Subjective Global Nutrition Assessment (SGNA) and anthropometric measures were used to develop and assess the validity of 4 simple nutrition screening questions comprising the PNST. Participants were pediatric inpatients in 2 tertiary pediatric hospitals and 1 regional hospital.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two affirmative answers to the PNST questions were found to maximize the specificity and sensitivity to the pediatric SGNA and body mass index (BMI) z scores for malnutrition in 295 patients. The PNST identified 37.6% of patients as being at nutrition risk, whereas the pediatric SGNA identified 34.2%. The sensitivity and specificity of the PNST compared with the pediatric SGNA were 77.8% and 82.1%, respectively. The sensitivity of the PNST at detecting patients with a BMI z score of less than -2 was 89.3%, and the specificity was 66.2%. Both the PNST and pediatric SGNA were relatively poor at detecting patients who were stunted or overweight, with the sensitivity and specificity being less than 69%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The PNST provides a sensitive, valid, and simpler alternative to existing pediatric nutrition screening tools such as Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Pediatrics (STAMP), Screening Tool Risk on Nutritional status and Growth (STRONGkids), and Paediatric Yorkhill Malnutrition Score (PYMS) to ensure the early detection of hospitalized children at nutrition risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dietetics and Food Services, Royal Children's Hospital, Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Herston, Queensland, Australia Melinda.White@health.qld.gov.au.
authors.forename: Melinda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Mater Children's Hospital, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.affiliation: School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Nutrition and Dietetics Program, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramsey
authors.affiliation: Department of Dietetics and Food Services, Royal Children's Hospital, Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Herston, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dennis
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Dietetics Department, Nambour Hospital, Nambour, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Zoe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
authors.affiliation: School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Nutrition and Dietetics Program, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Xin Ying
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Soh
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Griffith University, Southport, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Misa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsuyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Mater Health Services, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Annabel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Doolan
authors.affiliation: Mater Health Services and Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia Raymond Terrace, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Alwyn
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Todd
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Mater Health Services, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Aoife
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.affiliation: Department of Dietetics and Food Services, Royal Children's Hospital, Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Herston, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Kristie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.affiliation: Department of Dietetics and Food Services, Royal Children's Hospital, Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Herston, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Robyn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Littlewood
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000175:diagnosis; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010372:Pediatrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: administration; life cycle; nutrition; nutrition assessment; nutrition support practice; pediatrics