Comparison of Different Nutritional Screening Tools in Pediatric Oncology

Abstract

Abstract Background Malnutrition in pediatric oncology inpatients can cause several complications, and the early identification of inpatients at nutritional risk with screening tool is crucial. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate StrongKids and SGNA in order to analyze their performance and efficacy in pediatric inpatients undergoing oncological treatment and compare with objective assessment. Materials and Methods This was a cross-sectional study with pediatric oncology inpatients, of both sexes, admitted to A.C. Camargo Cancer Center. Data collection was conducted during the first hospital admission appointment, when StrongKids and SGNA were applied, and anthropometric data were collected. Results Sixty inpatients with an average age of 8.49 years old were evaluated, and 21,6% inpatients were diagnosed with malnutrition. SGNA and StrongKids shows a sensitivity of 92.3% and 84.6%, respectively. In the comparison of both tools, an adequate accuracy of 81.67% was detected. In addition, a significant kappa (κ) value was obtained (p = 0.021) for the evaluation comparing SGNA and the objective assessment, showing reasonable concordance (κ = 0.235). Conclusion Both nutritional screening tools showed a good performance with respect to sensitivity, compared with the objective assessment. Neither method showed a satisfactory accuracy when applied to pediatric oncology inpatients.