The Validity of the Original and the Saudi-Modified Screening Tools for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Pediatrics: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Screening for malnutrition among hospitalized children is essential, and the Screening Tool for the Assessment of Malnutrition in Pediatrics (STAMP) is a validated tool for this purpose. The study aimed to modify STAMP for a Saudi context and assess the sensitivity and specificity of both the original and modified tools. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 307 hospitalized children, where both the original and Saudi-modified STAMP were applied. Anthropometric measurements were also recorded, and statistical analysis using SPSS and validity parameters was used to assess the tools' validity. Results: The Saudi-modified STAMP identified a higher percentage of children at high risk of malnutrition compared to the original STAMP (91.6% vs. 62.9%). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, accuracy, and agreement of the Saudi-modified STAMP compared to the original were 94.3%, 13.2%, 64.8%, 57.7%, 0.654, and 0.089, respectively. Conclusions: The Saudi-modified STAMP showed excellent sensitivity and varied negative predictive value, indicating its potential effectiveness in screening for the risk of malnutrition among hospitalized children compared to the original STAMP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]