None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Undernutrition in patients with renal failure is associated with longer hospital stay, reduced quality of life and increased morbidity and mortality. However, undernutrition is a condition that can only be treated once it has been identified. There have been many nutritional screening tools that were developed in various care settings worldwide. However, the incidence of undernutrition in hospital and failure to recognise or to refer for further nutrition assessments remain high. Since renal patients are particularly vulnerable to undernutrition, the development of a rapid nutrition screening tool that could be easily administered by the renal nursing staff without the requirement of dietetic training would be valuable. Hence, patients who may be malnourished can be accurately identified and referred to the dietetic services. These timely referrals can avoid the deterioration of nutrition status and reduce hospital stay and further complications among them. The aim of this study is to develop and validate a rapid nutrition screening tool that is specific and sensitive to recognise renal inpatients at risk of undernutrition. The study will monitor the accuracy of the normal ward referral practice in identifying patients at risk of undernutrition and explore the acceptability of this new screening tool by the renal nursing staff.
Interventions
This study uses a prospective blind comparison to a gold standard study design. It will take place in the acute renal ward in Middlemore Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand. Consenting patients (n=229) admitted to the ward will be recruited over a period of eight weeks. The undernutrition risk of each renal inpatient identified by the newly developed nutrition screening tool will be compared with their nutrition status assessed using the subjective global assessment and hand grip strength for validi
This study uses a prospective blind comparison to a gold standard study design. It will take place in the acute renal ward in Middlemore Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand. Consenting patients (n=229) admitted to the ward will be recruited over a period of eight weeks. The undernutrition risk of each renal inpatient identified by the newly developed nutrition screening tool will be compared with their nutrition status assessed using the subjective global assessment and hand grip strength for validity. In the ward setting, the number and accuracy of dietetic referrals will be measured before and after implementation of the proposed tool. The newly developed screening tool is divided into two parts with nine questions regarding to weight loss in the past 30 days, appetite, oral intake and biochemical markers. Part one contains five compulsory questions. If a patient scores three or more in part one, a dietetic referral is generated. This means that this patient may be at risk of undernutrition requiring dietetic interventions. If a patient scores less than three in part one, part two consisting of four additional questions should be completed. If the total score of both part one and part two is three or more, a referral will be generated. The gold standard is aimed at providing a full nutrition assessment, ideally requiring significant dietetic input. However, the proposed tool is designed to be quick and easy so that it can be administered and completed by the nursing staff in approximately five minutes within 48 hours of admission.
Sponsors
Institute of Food Nutrition and Human Health, Massey University
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Primary purpose
Diagnosis
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: any patients admitted on Ward one due to acute kidney injury, chronic renal failure, and established renal failure (on haemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis or transplant).
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: patients with learning disabilities, mental illness, dementia, terminal illness, being unconscious, emergency situations, and inability to consent for themselves.
Outcome results
None listed