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. 2017 Dec 21:4:2333794X17748775.
doi: 10.1177/2333794X17748775. eCollection 2017.

A Weight Estimation Strategy for Preterm and Full-Term Infants

Susan M Abdel-Rahman  1   2 , Ian M Paul  3 , Paula Delmore  4 , Laura James  5 , Laura Fearn  6 , Andrew Atz  7 , Brenda Poindexter  8 , Amira Al-Uzri  9 , Andrew Lewandowski  10 , Barrie Harper  11 , P Brian Smith  11
Affiliations

A Weight Estimation Strategy for Preterm and Full-Term Infants

Susan M Abdel-Rahman et al. Glob Pediatr Health. .

Abstract

Weight is the foremost marker of health outcomes in infants; however, the majority of community workers and health care providers in remote, resource-constrained settings have limited access to functional scales. This study develops and validates a simple weight estimation strategy for infants that addresses the limitations of current approaches. Circumferential and segmental anthropometric measures were evaluated for their relationship to infant weight and length. Data derived from 2097 US infants (n = 1681 for model development, n = 416 for validation). Statistical and practical considerations informed final measurement selection. Head circumference and chest circumference demonstrated the best correlations with weight (r = 0.89) and length (r = 0.94 and 0.93), and were among the most reproducible as reflected by intraclass correlation coefficients (>0.98). The head circumference and chest circumference combination offered better goodness-of-fit and smaller limits of agreement than did either measure alone. The final model predicted weight within 10% and 15% of actual for 84% and 94% of infants, respectively, with no bias for postnatal age (P = .76), gestational age (P = .10), and sex (P = .25). The model requires simple summation to generate a weight estimate and can be embodied as a low-cost, paper-based device.

Keywords: abdomen; chest circumference; global health; pediatric.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Histograms depicting the distribution of gestational age, postnatal age, and postmenstrual age for children comprising the study population.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Mean (95% confidence intervals) absolute relative and absolute percentage error for each model evaluated. Asterisks indicate a significant difference between models (P < .01).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
(Upper) Model-predicted weight of the infants in the validation cohort against their actual weight. The line intersecting each graph represents the line of unity. (Lower) Bland-Altman plots of the differences in log-transformed weights versus the average log-transformed weights. The lines intersecting the graphs represent the means and 95% limits of agreement.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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