MEASURING FOOT LENGTH TO IDENTIFY VULNERABLE NEWBORNS IN NEED OF EXTRA CARE: A CROSS SECTIONAL HOSPITAL BASED STUDY IN SOUTH INDIA

Abstract

Background: Neonatal mortality remains high in many developing country settings mainly because of low birth weight (LBW) or preterm births (PTB). Easy-to-use anthropometric parameters like foot length which are appropriate for resource-limited settings are necessary, to guarantee these neonates are distinguished and alluded as required for extra care. This research aimed to estimate the sensitivity and specicity, and the positive and negative predictive values of newborn foot length to identify babies who are LBWand PTB. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of newborn babies in a tertiary care hospital was carried out between July to September 2018. Foot length, birth weight and gestational age were estimated on the rst day of life. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to determine the operational cut-offs. Results: In hospital 150 babies were recruited and measured within 24 hours of birth. Of the 150 babies, 21 (14.00%) were born LBW (<2500 grams) and 77 (51.33%) were PTB. Mean foot length on the rst day was 7.62 ± 0.47 cm. Day one average foot length 7.32 cm at birth was 84.5% (77.70 – 89.89) sensitive and 90.5% (84.64 – 94.68) specic to identify birth weight ≥2500 grams; foot length 7.47 cm had sensitivity and specicity of 76.70% (69.11 – 83.21) and 49.4% (41.15 – 57.68) to identify those having term births. Conclusion: Measurement of newborn foot length for home births in resource-limited settings has the potential to be used by birth attendants, community health workers so that vulnerable newborns can be identied and receive targeted interventions for improved survival.