Table 2.
Components and interpretation of nutrition screening tools
| NST | NRS-2002[9] | MUST[9] | NRI[27] | MIRT[8] | SaskIBD-NR[35] |
| NST components | |||||
| Initial screening | BMI | Serum albumin | BMI | Symptoms (nausea/vomiting/diarrhea/poor appetite > 2 wk) | |
| BMI | Weight loss (last 3-6 mo) | Present weight/usual weight | Weight loss (last 3 mo) | Weight loss (last month) | |
| Weight loss (last 6 mo) | Acute disease effect3 | CRP | Anorexia | ||
| Dietary intake (last week) | Food restriction | ||||
| ICU patient | |||||
| Final Screening1 | |||||
| Weight loss | |||||
| Food intake | |||||
| Disease severity2 | |||||
| NST score indicating risk of malnutrition | |||||
| 0 = Low | 0 = Low | > 97.5 = No Risk | Score range = 0-8 | 0-2 = Low risk | |
| 1 = Mild | 1 = Medium | 83.5-97.5 = Moderate | 0 = Lowest | 3-4 = Medium risk | |
| 2 = Moderate | ≥ 2 = High | < 83.5 = High | 8 = Highest | ≥ 5 = High risk | |
| ≥ 3 = High | |||||
1
To be conducted if there is a “YES” to any one of initial screening questions;
2
Categorized into mild/moderate/severe based on descriptors in Nutrition Risk Screening 2002 Tool;
3
Patient is acutely ill AND there has been/likely to be no nutrition intake > 5 d. BMI: Body mass index; CRP: C-reactive protein; ICU: Intensive care unit. NST: Nutrition screening tools; NRS-2002: Nutrition Risk Screening 2002; MUST: Malnutrition universal screening tool; NRI: Nutritional Risk Index; MIRT: Malnutrition Inflammation Risk Tool; SaskIBD-NR: Saskatchewan Inflammatory Bowel Disease Nutrition Risk.