Evaluation with the screening STAMP tool (Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Paediatrics) by health personnel to pediatric patients

Abstract

Introduction. Pediatric hospital malnutrition (MN) is a poor nutritional status of pediatric patients with impact on physical function with disabled clinical results, in the last evaluations at our institution, a prevalence of 30-50% of malnutrition was observed in pediatric patients. McCarthy demonstrated the efficacy of a simple and applicable nutritional screening tool by health personnel without nutrition training useful in identifying MN risk. Currently, no screening tests have been found in Mexican population, this study will allow us to evaluate the validity of STAMP screening in our institution. Objective. Evaluate the sensitivity and specificity in the operation of the STAMP nutritional screening test in hospitalized pediatric patients applied by health personnel regarding the complete nutritional assessment and its probable application at our institution. Methods. Observational, cross-sectional, comparative study in pediatric patients between 2 and 16 years of age admitted to a hospital. The first 24 hours of admission the STAMP test was applied by nurses and was compared with an assessment of the complete nutritional status as a gold standard. Results. The prevalence of pediatric hospital malnutrition can reach up to 42% (95% CI) in through full nutritional evaluation; the STAMP test detected a 48% high risk of malnutrition, with a sensitivity of 85.7%, specificity of 79.3%, positive predictive value of 75% and negative of 88.4%. Conclusion. Using STAMP in clinical practice as a screening tool by health personnel is a filter of at-risk individuals for subsequent complete nutritional assessment and monitoring of low- and medium-risk patients to avoid malnutrition.