Am J Perinatol 2004; 21(1): 45-47
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-820510
Copyright © 2004 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA

A Grid to Assess the Nutritional Status of Low-Birth-Weight Infants in the Neonatal Period

Nabil Mounla1
  • 1Department of Pediatrics, American University Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
11 March 2004 (online)

Preview

Growth curves of low-birth-weight infants updated over the past 50 years accept many exclusions and do not provide a standard way to assess the nutritional status of these infants regardless of their diseases in the neonatal period. A new way for assessment is proposed. It is based on the excess time expressed in percent beyond the allocated time for an infant to gain his birth weight and the excess drop in weight expressed in percent beyond the allowed drop of weight. This method delineates one zone of adequate nutrition and three zones of malnutrition: mild, moderate, and severe.

REFERENCES

Nabil MounlaM.D. 

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