Validity of four nutritional screening tools against subjective global assessment for inpatients with non communicable diseases (Algeria, 2020)

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study aimed to study the validity of four screening tools against the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), to know the most valid screening tools for identifying the risk of malnutrition in hospitalized patients in Algeria. Material and methodsThis was a cross-sectional, descriptive survey carried out during one month with inpatients with at least one non-communicable disease (cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases). Nutritional status was assessed using the SGA. The risk of malnutrition was measured using the MST, MUST, SNAQ, and BBT. ResultsPrevalence of malnutrition risk varied significantly between different screening tools. The risk of malnutrition was highest with MUST (52.38%) and lowest with MST (22.86%). All screening tools showed moderate/fair validity compared to the reference method (SGA). MUST shows the best sensitivity compared to the other tools. ConclusionThe four nutrition screening tools (MUST, MST, BBT, and SNAQ) are valid to identify malnutrition among inpatients with NCDs in Algeria. The most appropriate screening tool for usage in Algeria is the MUST following by the BBT, SNAQ and MST.