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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04536974

The "Self Evaluation of Food Intake" (SEFI) as a Screening Test for Hospital Malnutrition in Children Over 10 Years

The goal is to find a simple tool that can be used by medical and paramedical staff and that is reliable to identify children at risk for malnutrition.

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Key information

Conditions

Malnutrition, Child Child Nutrition Disorders Malnutrition Nutrition Disorders Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases

Age range

10 year–17 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

CHU Angers, Angers, France

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About this study

The Ingesta Easy Assessment Score (SEFI®) (formerly "food intake assessment tool or EPA®") is validated in hospitals in adults to detect the risk of malnutrition and guide nutritional management. SEFI® combines a visual analogue scale (VAS) with a visual assessment of the portions consumed (www.sefi-nutrition.com). It comes in the form of a ruler equipped with a cursor and allows a visual assessment, by the patient himself, of his food intake, using an analog scale, or a choice of portions. consumed (see appendix). A score <7/10 is associated with malnutrition or the risk of malnutrition.

The investigators hypothesize that, in pediatric services for children 10 years of age or older, SEFI® would be a feasible and reliable tool for screening for the risk of malnutrition.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Children aged 10 to 17 and hospitalized in pediatric or pediatric surgery, regardless of the reason for hospitalization.
  • Whose holders of parental authority have received information on the protocol and have not expressed their opposition to the child's participation in the study,
  • Having received information on the protocol and not having expressed opposition to participating in the study.

Exclusion criteria

  • Patients whose level of understanding does not allow the use of SEFI®

Treatment and study plan

SEFI tool

Diagnostic Test

Detect the risk of malnutrition with the SEFI tool

Primary outcomes

  1. Assess the reliability of SEFI® for detecting the risk of acute malnutrition in pediatrics

    Time frame: 6 month

    rate of agreement between the diagnoses of malnutrition obtained by the SEFI® tool and those obtained by diagnostic tools already validated in children: the Weight to Height ratio (or Waterlow index)

Secondary outcomes

  1. reliability of SEFI ® to detect the risk of chronic undernutrition in pediatrics

    Time frame: 6 months

    rate of agreement between the diagnoses of malnutrition obtained by the SEFI® tool and those obtained by diagnostic tools already validated in children: Weight to Age ratio and Height to Age ratio

  2. feasibility of SEFI®

    Time frame: 6 months

    Percentage of completion of the test compared to the number of subjects included in the study (if the test is carried out for each person included = 100% feasibility)

  3. correlations of VAS results (score or portions consumed) with occurrence of complications and length of hospital stay

    Time frame: 9 months

    Duration of hospitalization and complications during hospitalization

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Rennes University Hospital

Other

Registry information

Acronym: SEFI

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Sep 3, 2020
Registry last updated
Jun 12, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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