Nutrition impact symptoms score as a malnutrition screening tool
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluation of a nutrition impact symptoms (NIS) score as a renal inpatient malnutrition screening tool
IRAS ID
171567
Contact name
Helen MacLaughlin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 14 days
Research summary
Malnutrition is common in patients admitted to hospital kidney wards. Kidney disease or kidney injury causes fatigue, taste changes and a build up of waste products, which can reduce appetite. Malnutrition occurs when energy and protein obtained from food and drink is not meeting the body’s needs, and leads to complications such as infections, skin and muscle breakdown, and longer hospital stays. Early identification of malnutrition can improve the response to treatment, but assessment of nutrition status is complex and requires specialist training, and is not practical for all hospital admissions. Therefore, nutrition screening tools were developed to assess the risk of malnutrition in each patient, and identify patients requiring a full nutrition assessment. Nutrition screening tools can be completed by a wide range of hospital staff, and require only a short training period. Recent research indicates that general nutrition screening tools aren't able to detect the risk of malnutrition in patients with kidney disease. A new screening tool, using a set of symptoms associated with reduced food intake, has been developed. Preliminary research suggests that the nutrition impact symptoms (NIS) score was a good predictor of malnutrition risk, when compared against a full nutrition assessment using the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) method. The aim of this study is to further assess the nutrition impact symptoms (NIS) score as a nutrition screening tool in a larger population. The NIS score will be calculated and a full nutrition assessment and hand grip strength measurement will be completed for 100 patients admitted to the kidney wards. The results will indicate whether the NIS score could be recommended for more widespread use to screen kidney patients in hospital for their risk of malnutrition. In this way it is hoped to improve the number of patients receiving earlier nutritional treatment when required.
REC name
London - City & East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/0204
Date of REC Opinion
27 Jan 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion