Table 1.

Nutritional screening tools to assess the risk of malnutrition in patients and specific chronic liver diseases.

Nutritional Screening Tool	Variables Included	Pro	Cons
Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF) [49]	Decrease in food intake Weight loss Mobility Psychological stress/acute disease Neuropsychological problems BMI	Predictive validity for adverse outcome, social functioning, mortality Practical Greatest sensitivity and specificity compared to the full form of the MNA	Interrater reliability modest Weight from fluid collections (ascites, peripheral edema) not accounted for Disease severity not considered
Malnutrition Universal Screening Test (MUST) [50]	Unplanned weight loss in past 3–6 months Acutely ill and unable to eat for > 5 days BMI	High interrater reliability Content and predictive validity for length of hospital stay and mortality Practical	Weight from fluid collections (ascites, peripheral edema) not accounted for Disease severity not considered
Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ) [51]	Unintentional weight loss Decreased appetite Use of supplements or tube feeding	Practical Facilitates identification and treatment of malnourished inpatients	Weight from fluid collections (ascites, peripheral edema) not accounted for Disease severity not considered
Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS 2002) [52]	Weight loss Food intake BMI Disease severity	Content and predictive validity Moderately reliable Practical Considers disease severity	Weight from fluid collections (ascites, peripheral edema) not accounted for
Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST) [53]	Unintentional weight loss Quantity of weight lost Decreased appetite	Simple/practical Predictive validity for length of stay Good reliability Highly sensitive	Weight from fluid collections (ascites, peripheral edema) not accounted for Disease severity not considered
Nutrition Risk in the Critically Ill (NUTRIC Score) [53,54]	Absence of food intake, whether acute or chronic Age APACHE II and SOFA scores Comorbidities Days in hospital pre-ICU Interleukin-6	Externally validated	Interleukin-6 not widely available Requires training Classic nutrition parameters not considered
Nutritional Risk Index (NRI) [55]	Albumin Weight loss	Simple Facilitates identification of malnourished inpatients	Weight from fluid collections (ascites, peripheral edema) not accounted Disease severity not considered
Liver disease-tailored
The Royal Free Hospital-Nutritional Prioritizing Tool (RFH-NPT) [56]	Alcoholic hepatitis or tube feeding Considers fluid overload Dietary intake reduction Weight loss One option for assessing diuretic use	Simple/practical cirrhosis-specific features Excellent intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility Good external validity Predictive of clinical deterioration and transplant-free survival	Valid in population with cirrhosis only Impact of nutritional therapy based on screening score unknown
The Liver Disease Undernutrition Screening Tool (LDUST) [57]	Nutrient intake Weight loss Subcutaneous fat loss Muscle mass loss Fluid accumulation Decline in functional status	Quick and easily Detecting undernutrition in both inpatients and outpatients Weight from fluid collections (ascites, peripheral edema) accounted for	Relies on the patient’s subjective judgment A negative screen was unable to reliably rule out undernutrition