Paediatric screening for malnutrition still in its infancy
Van den Berg, A.; Rasmussen, E.; Wanten, G.
Nederlands Tijdschrift Voor Geneeskunde 154: A1825
2010
ISSN/ISBN: 1876-8784 PMID: 20619038 Document Number: 638832
Disease-related malnutrition occurs frequently in hospitals. It adversely affects the patients' recovery and increases the risk for complications. It is therefore one of the denominators the government uses to assess the quality of care. Essential for the treatment of malnutrition is the recognition of the problem by means of 'screening'. Unfortunately, it often remains unclear whether this refers to the assessment of the nutritional status or the risk for the development of malnutrition. In our opinion, the knowledge of both aspects is very limited in paediatric medicine, mainly due to methodological issues. The latter also applies to the first national study on the prevalence of malnutrition in hospitalised children in the Netherlands. When it comes to assessing the risk for the development of malnutrition, there is a clear lack of consensus as to what instrument should be used. To make matters worse, the tools available also lack sensitivity and specificity.