| Exploring nutritional screening tools for hospitalized
children: a narrative review |
Pankaj Soni1 
, Amit Agrawal2
, Gaurav Jadon3
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1Department of Neonatology, Thumbay University Hospital, and Clinical Lecturer, Department of Clinical Sciences (Pediatric Neonatology), College of Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE
2Department of Pediatrics, Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal, India
3NMC Specialty Hospital, Dubai, UAE |
Correspondence:
Amit Agrawal, Email: agrawaldramit@yahoo.co.in
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Received: 13 March 2025 • Revised: 10 August 2025 • Accepted: 22 August 2025 |
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| Abstract |
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Malnutrition is common among hospitalized children,
especially those who are critically ill. Routine measures,
such as anthropometric measurements, body composition,
and nutritional assessment, comprise the basics
of monitoring. This review discusses the adequacy of
nutritional screening tools (NSTs) such as the SGNA
(Subjective Global Nutritional Assessment), PYMS (Pediatric
Yorkhill Malnutrition Score), STAMP (Screening
Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Paediatrics),
and STRONGkids (Screening Tool for Risk of Nutritional
Status and Growth). This review included recently
published reports supporting the validation and implementation
of NSTs in pediatric populations. A child's
nutritional status during hospitalization is of great importance
for their recovery, while the implementation
of screening tools enhances their clinical outcomes.
Current tools have varying sensitivities and specificities,
and no single tool can be recommended for all groups of
hospitalized children. A combination of tools or adaptation
of existing tools with validation in different contexts
might be ideal. Further studies are required to
develop more robust and comprehensive screening tools. |
| Key Words:
Nutritional assessment, Nutritional status,
Nutritional screening tools, Child, Malnutrition |
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