Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis and Mid-Upper Arm Muscle Circumference Can Be Used to Detect Low Muscle Mass in Clinical Practice.

Identification of low muscle mass becomes increasingly relevant due to its prognostic value in cancer patients. In clinical practice, mid-upper arm muscle circumference (MAMC) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) are often used to assess muscle mass. For muscle-mass assessment, computed tomography (CT) is considered as reference standard. We investigated concordance between CT, BIA, and MAMC, diagnostic accuracy of MAMC, and BIA to detect low muscle mass and their relation with the clinical outcome malnutrition provided with the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment Short Form (PG-SGA SF). This cross-sectional study included adult patients with advanced esophageal and gastrointestinal cancer. BIA, MAMC, and PG-SGA-SF were performed. Routine CT-scans were used to quantify psoas muscle index (PMI) and skeletal muscle area. Good concordance was found between CTPMI and both BIAFFMI (fat free mass index) (ICC 0.73), and BIAASMI (appendicular skeletal muscle index) (ICC 0.69) but not with MAMC (ICC 0.37). BIAFFMI (94%), BIAASMI (86%), and MAMC (86%) showed high specificity but low sensitivity. PG-SGA-SF modestly correlated with all muscle-mass measures (ranging from -0.17 to -0.43). Of all patients with low muscle mass, 62% were also classified with a PG-SGA-SF score of ≥4 points. Although CT remains the first choice, since both BIA and MAMC are easy to perform by dieticians, they have the potential to be used to detect low muscle mass in clinical practice.

Self-Completion of the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment Short Form Is Feasible and Is Associated With Increased Awareness on Malnutrition Risk in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to assess feasibility of self-completion of the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment Short Form (PG-SGA SF) by head and neck cancer patients, and to assess self-reported increased awareness regarding malnutrition risk after self-completion. METHODS: Participants were randomized to complete the PG-SGA SF by paper or app. Feasibility was assessed by time needed to complete the PG-SGA SF, perceived difficulty, and help needed during completion. Participants were asked if they knew what malnutrition was (yes/no) and if they could define "malnutrition." They were also asked 9 questions on whether they perceived increased awareness of malnutrition risk after having completed the PG-SGA SF and 2 on their intention to change lifestyle habits. RESULTS: Of all participants (n = 59; 65.9 ± 12.6 years; 73% male), 55% completed the PG-SGA SF paper version and 46% the Pt-Global app. Median time needed for self-completion of the PG-SGA SF was 2 minutes 41 seconds (interquartile range: 1 minute 49 seconds-3 minutes 50 seconds). Forty-eight percent needed help with completion, indicating acceptable feasibility. Participants who completed the Pt-Global app needed help significantly more often (66%; 21/32) than those who completed the PG-SGA SF paper version (26%; 7/27) (P = 0.005). All difficulty scores were excellent. For 7/9 questions on malnutrition risk awareness, >50% of the participants answered positively. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that self-completion of the PG-SGA SF by head and neck cancer patients is feasible and that awareness regarding malnutrition risk may increase after completing the PG-SGA SF.