Nutritional risk assessment using Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) in COVID-19 patients: An observational study in a tertiary care hospital in Eastern India

Aims: To diagnose malnutrition, the nutritional status of each infected patient should be evaluated before starting general treatment. The role of Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) in evaluating nutritional status of COVID-19 patients is still unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of MUST in assessment of nutritional status of COVID-19 patients. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of hospitalized COVID-19 patients above 18 years of age from July 25th to September 25th, 2020. All COVID-19 patients with a length of hospital stay greater than 24 hours underwent malnutrition screening and nutritional assessment based upon MUST. Demographic data, laboratory parameters and MUST score were retrieved from case files. Results: Out of 106 COVID-19 patients included in the study, 68 (64%) were male and 38 (36%) were female. Number of deaths due to COVID-19 was 17 (16.03%). A total of 22 (20.75%) patients had MUST score of 2 and above. Analysis between MUST score and age group showed statistically significant result (p=0.012). MUST score according to clinical outcome at the end of hospitalization was also statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: Our results highlight a possible role of MUST as screening tool for malnutrition in COVID-19 patients. Keywords: COVID-19, nutritional risk, MUST score, malnutrition, coronavirus