Compliance with nutrition screening in a children's hospital

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Nutrition
• Clinical Auditing
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• Children in hospitals, especially those with chronic conditions, are at significant risk of malnutrition.
• Effective nutritional care is crucial for hospitalized pediatric patients.
• Nutrition risk screening tools (NRST) are intended to identify at-risk children, but their implementation is inconsistently reported.

Purpose of the Study:

• To audit the compliance of using anthropometry and nutrition risk screening tools (NRST) in a pediatric hospital setting.
• To assess the current practices of nutritional assessment in hospitalized children.
• To compare current data with previous findings on anthropometric measurements and NRST use.

Main Methods:

• A one-day cross-sectional audit of patient records at Southampton Children's Hospital.
• Inclusion criteria encompassed all inpatients present during specific hours.
• Data collected included anthropometric measurements (weight, length/height) and completion of NRST.

Main Results:

• Review of 113 records showed high compliance for weight (96.4%) and improved length/height recording (64%) compared to previous data (19%).
• Compliance with NRST was notably poor, with only 17% of records fully completed.
• These findings indicate a discrepancy between basic anthropometric data collection and the utilization of formal screening tools.

Conclusions:

• Basic anthropometric measurements in hospitalized children have improved significantly.
• The low compliance with NRST suggests potential issues with their practical application or perceived utility in clinical settings.
• Further evaluation is needed regarding the effectiveness of current NRST and the potential benefits of focusing on fundamental assessments like height, weight, intake, and overall nutrition risk.