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Perioperative Nutrition Screen (PONS)
Screens surgical patients for nutritional risk using four routinely available criteria.
Perioperative Nutrition Screen (PONS)
Age
years
Body mass index (BMI)
kg/m^2
Unintentional weight loss >10% in the past 6 months
Eating less than 50% of usual diet in the past week
Serum albumin (if available)
Complete the fields above to see the result.
When to use
- Rapidly screening surgical patients preoperatively for nutritional risk to trigger a full dietitian assessment.
Formula
1 point for each positive criterion: BMI <18.5 (age <=65) or <20 (age >65); weight loss >10% in 6 months; oral intake <50% of usual in the past week; albumin <3.0 g/dL (if available, and without hepatic/renal dysfunction as the sole cause). Any positive criterion = at risk.
Pearls and pitfalls
- Adapted from the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) for the preoperative setting.
- Albumin is optional - the screen can be completed with the first three criteria alone if albumin is not available.