Current Practices Using Pediatric Malnutrition Indicators: A Survey of Dietitians Working in Pediatrics
Sarah Gunnell Bellini1, Patricia J Becker2,3, Liesje Nieman Carney4
1Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science Department, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA.
Background:
In 2014, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition recommended indicators to identify malnutrition in children aged 1 month to 18 years. The purpose of this study was to evaluate current practices and the effectiveness of the consensus statement-recommended pediatric malnutrition indicators.
Methods:
A cross-sectional electronic survey link was posted in the Pediatric Nutrition Practice Group (subscribers = 3160) and Clinical Nutrition Management Practice Group's Pediatric Subunit (subscribers = 177) community discussion boards. Additionally, flyers with the survey link were distributed to registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) currently working in pediatrics at the 2018 Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo. Frequencies described participant characteristics, awareness of indicators, and use of indicators. Researchers used the Fisher exact test to determine associations between categorical variables.
Results:
Two hundred eighty-one surveys were included in data analysis. A majority of RDNs (88.6%) reported they knew the indicators existed and considered themselves knowledgeable about the indicators. Weight loss was the most frequently used indicator, with 224 RDNs (80%) reporting use as often or always. Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) was the least used indicator with only 68 RDNs (25%) using it often or always. Most RDNs (71.5%) reported that their facility used International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision codes to document malnutrition.
Conclusion:
RDNs working with pediatric populations consistently use the recommended malnutrition indicators; however, further education is needed on the appropriate use of MUAC and length/height per age as malnutrition indicators.
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