Mid Upper Arm Circumference Versus International Screening Questionnaires in Evaluation of Nutritional Status of Children Attending Assiut University Hospital.

Identification of children at risk of malnutrition is essential in treating disease-related malnutrition and optimising the health of all hospitalised patients. Malnutrition is: "the state of nutrition in which a deficiency or excess or imbalance) of energy, protein,and other nutrients causes measurable adverse effects on tissue/body function and clinical outcome"( Elia M et al; 2005)

Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) is an alternate nutritional measure that can be used as a possible predictor of weight-for -height irrespective of age. MUAC measurement is a simple, non-invasive, rapid and inexpensive tool for screening malnutrition. Therefore, World Health Organization (WHO) has suggested for evaluation of MUAC for screening at the community level.(Geneva et al; 2020)

Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), a method of nutritional assessment based on clinical judgment, has been widely used to assess the nutritional status for both clinical and research purposes.( Am J Clin Nutr et al; 2007) Because nutritional assessment is difficult, a new technique called Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) was developed. Its ratings have been found to be highly predictive of outcome.4 The procedure is easy to learn and simple to implement. SGA requires no additional laboratory testing or capital outlay. In addition, SGA has been found to correlate strongly with other subjective and objective measures of nutrition( Covinsky KE et al; 2004)

SGA classifies the patient as:

A. Well-nourished B. Mildly malnourished or suspected of malnutrition C. Severely malnourished Clinicians place the patient into one of these categories based upon their subjective rating of the patient in two broad areas: 1. Medical History, 2. Physical Examination.