Comparative evaluation of malnutrition screening in oncology patients in an acute care hospital: A pilot study

Background: Malnutrition is associated with negative health consequences in the cancer population, making it imperative for an efficient interdisciplinary approach to conduct nutritional screening using an appropriate instrument. The present study compared the qualitative evaluation of nutritionally at-risk cancer patients, using an Existing Malnutrition RiskScreening Questionnaire (EMR-SQ), with a new Comprehensive Questionnaire (CMR-SQ). Materials and methods: The population studied consisted of 37 cancer patients. The first stage in data collection involved assessment by the nursing staff utilizing the EMR-SQ. In the second stage, these same patients were evaluated using the CMR-SQ developed by the authors containing components specific to identifying individuals at-risk for malnutrition, based on the PG-SGA and A.S.P.E.N. guidelines. The risk scores were subsequently used to classify low, moderate, and high risk of developing malnutrition. Results: The EMR-SQ identified 81.1% at low risk of developing malnutrition, whereas the CMR-SQ determined 32.4% low, 37.8% moderate, and 29.7% at high risk. These differences between the screening instruments were statistically significant (p < 0.0001). Correlational analyses of factors affecting the risk of developing malnutrition using Spearman’s rho indicated a positive relationship in presence of comorbidities r = 0.63, p < 0.010 and an inverse relationship between handshake strength r = -0.40, p < 0.05. Conclusion: The combined distribution pattern of 70% for moderate and high risk of developing malnutrition identified by the CMR-SQ is consistent with the estimates of prevalence of malnutrition in hospitalized cancer patients in the literature. The increased sensitivity of the CMR-SQ could be attributed to the addition of nutrition focused clinical characteristics.