Assessment of malnutrition in hospitalized children: Comparison of stamp, PYMS and strong-kids screening tools

Aim Early identification of malnutrition risk in hospitalized children is essential for timely nutritional intervention. This study aims diagnostic performance of three pediatric malnutrition screening tools validated in Turkish: STAMP, PYMS, and STRONG-Kids. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 148 hospitalized children were included. Nutritional risk was evaluated using STAMP, PYMS, and STRONG-Kids screening tools. Anthropometric measurements were performed, and height-for-age, Body Mass Index (BMI)-for-age, and Middle Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC)-for-age z-scores were calculated. The sensitivity and specificity of each tool were assessed in identifying chronic and acute malnutrition. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess the discriminative ability of the screening tools. Results Chronic malnutrition was identified in 12.8% of patients and acute malnutrition in 15.5%. STAMP and STRONG-Kids showed the highest sensitivity for detecting chronic malnutrition (84.2% and 84.3%), while PYMS had the highest specificity. STRONG-Kids demonstrated the greatest sensitivity for acute malnutrition and low MUAC z-scores (100.0%). ROC analysis showed that PYMS had the highest Area Under the Curve (AUC) for acute malnutrition, whereas STRONG-Kids had the highest AUC for chronic malnutrition, although all tools demonstrated limited discriminative ability for chronic malnutrition. Conclusion STAMP and STRONG-Kids were more sensitive in detecting malnutrition risk, whereas PYMS showed higher specificity. Tool performance varied according to anthropometric indicators. Implications to practice In clinical practice, selecting the screening tool according to the targeted malnutrition type and available anthropometric indicators may improve early detection and allow more effective prioritization of nutritional interventions in hospitalized children.