eng Science and Education Publishing Journal of Food and Nutrition Research 2333-1240 2020-01-08 8 1 15 20 10.12691/jfnr-8-1-2 JFNR2020812 article Ericka Montijo-Barrios 1 Martha Guevara-Cruz 2 Beatriz Adriana Pinzón-Navarro 2 Judith Ileana Gris-Calvo 2 Miriam G. Bautista-Silva 2 Monserrat Cazares-Mendez 2 Roberto Cervantes-Bustamante 2 Jaime A. Ramírez-Mayans 2 Isabel Medina-Vera imedinav@pediatria.gob.mx 3 Servicio de Gastroenterología y Nutrición Pediátrica, Instituto Nacional de Pediatría, CDMX, México Departamento de Fisiología de la Nutrición, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubiran, CDMX, México Departamento de Metodología de la Investigación, Instituto Nacional de Pediatría, CDMX, México Aim: To develop a new screening tool that can quickly assess the risk of undernourishment and evaluate its correlation with frequently used anthropometric indicators. Methods: A new, easy-to-access screening tool was developed for clinical practice with 5 items. A total of 650 children were evaluated, with an average age of 54 months. Their global nutritional status was assessed, as well as the proposed new screening tool. Results: We found that the presence of the item "The patient is in serious condition" was associated with longer days of hospital stay (18.8 ± 4.5, p=0.002), as was the presence of the item "There are factors that increase metabolic and energy demand (20%)" (14.4 ± 1.9, p=0.007). Similarly, we observed a greater risk with the presence of undernourishment [OR=2.8 (95% CI=2 - 3.9)] and the item “There is functional limitation for feeding” [OR=2.3 (95% CI=1.4 - 3.5)]. The score of the new tool differed between those who children who exhibited undernourishment versus those who did not [2.1 ± 1.08 vs 1.6 ± 0.99 (p=0.0001)]. Conclusions: The identification of at least 2 items of the new screening tool could help to detect undernourishment, especially in paediatric populations where, due to the large amount of admissions. http://pubs.sciepub.com/jfnr/8/1/2/jfnr-8-1-2.pdf undernourishment nutrition screening tool paediatrics