Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST)

MUST is a validated screening tool developed by the British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN). It assesses malnutrition risk through a three-step process:

Body Mass Index (BMI): Patients are categorized based on their BMI, with lower scores indicating a higher risk of malnutrition.
Percentage Weight Loss: This assesses unintentional weight loss over the past three to six months, which is a critical indicator of nutritional decline.
Acute Disease Effect: This evaluates the impact of any acute illness on nutritional intake, which can exacerbate malnutrition risk.

Each parameter is scored from 0 to 2, allowing for a cumulative score that classifies patients into low (0), medium (1), or high (≥2) risk categories for malnutrition.

Step	Criteria	Score
BMI Calculation	BMI > 20 kg/m²	0 points
	BMI 18.5–20 kg/m²	1 point
	BMI < 18.5 kg/m²	2 points
Weight Loss Percentage	Weight loss < 5% (in the past 3-6 months)	0 points
	Weight loss 5-10%	1 point
	Weight loss > 10%	2 points
Acute Disease Effect	Acutely ill, with no nutritional intake for > 5 days	2 points
Total MUST Score	Add scores from BMI, Weight Loss, and Acute Disease Effect	-
	0 points: Low risk	Routine care, annual review
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