Optimizing Malnutrition Risk Detection in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Longitudinal Analysis of Serial Nutritional...

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Nutritional Science
• Clinical Medicine

Background:

• Malnutrition is often overlooked in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) patients during remission, impacting outcomes.
• Early detection and management of malnutrition are crucial for improving quality of life in IBD patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the diagnostic performance of five nutritional screening tools (NSTs) for malnutrition in IBD outpatients in remission.
• To evaluate the impact of serial (repeated) administration of NSTs on malnutrition detection accuracy.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, single-center cohort study involving 66 IBD patients (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis).
• Nutritional screening tools (NSTs) and body composition analysis were performed at baseline and after six months.
• Evaluation of NST sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and accuracy against ESPEN, GLIM criteria, and low FFMI.

Main Results:

• Malnutrition prevalence increased from baseline (25.7% ESPEN, 9% GLIM) to 53% (ESPEN) and 16.6% (GLIM) over six months.
• MUST and SaskIBD-NR demonstrated the highest specificity for malnutrition detection.
• Serial NST administration significantly improved the specificity of all tested tools compared to single assessments.

Conclusions:

• Repeated nutritional screening using MUST or SaskIBD-NR enhances malnutrition risk detection specificity in IBD patients in remission.
• Incorporating serial nutritional assessments into IBD outpatient care is a practical strategy to improve screening effectiveness.