Abstract
Objectives: Identifying malnutrition in the hospitalized patient is important as it correlates with increased morbidity. The Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) is recognized in the literature as a standardized and validated method for diagnosing malnutrition. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) developed a comprehensive method (AND-ASPEN criteria) for diagnosing malnutrition that has yet to be validated. In effort to validate the AND-ASPEN criteria for identifying malnutrition, this study investigated whether AND-ASPEN criteria would correlate with SGA in hospitalized patients.Methods: A cohort of patients >18 years old admitted to a tertiary hospital and assessed for malnutrition using AND-ASPEN criteria were randomly selected, and a retrospective review was completed. Criteria needed to perform SGA were extracted from the electronic medical record and SGA data were calculated and compared to AND-ASPEN malnutrition scoring. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to assess correlation between the SGA and AND-ASPEN malnutrition score. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation, median or frequency.Results: A total of 409 patients were reviewed and 225 (55%) met inclusion criteria. SGA malnutrition scores classified 47.1% (n = 106) of subjects as well-nourished, 32% (n = 72) moderately malnourished, and 20.9% (n = 47) severely malnourished. The AND-ASPEN malnutrition scores classified 43.8% (n = 179) of the subjects as well-nourished, 26.2% (n = 107) as moderately malnourished, and 30.1% (n = 123) severely malnourished. The SGA score and AND-ASPEN malnutrition diagnosis were found to be correlated (p < 0.001). There was no association between age or length of stay with either assessment tool.Conclusions: The AND-ASPEN criteria for diagnosing malnutrition correlated with SGA in identifying nutritional status in hospitalized adult patients. Future prospective studies capturing the impact of malnutrition diagnosis, medical and nutrition interventions with patient outcomes are warranted to confirm the impact of early and accurate identification of malnutrition of patient outcomes.
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