Abstract
For 30 years the Dancis grid has been the standard for growth in the premature infant. To determine if growth patterns have changed for the very small infant, new curves were constructed from the daily weights of 53 consecutive newborns weighing less than 1000g and surviving until discharge. Three measurements of growth were examined: 1. number of days to regain birth weight (days to B.WT.), 2. minimum weight as a percentage of birth weight (min. WT/B.WT.), and 3. weight on day 50 as a percentage of birth weight (WT. on D.50/B.WT.). These measures were compared to the Dancis curves for 750 and 1000g birth weights.
Infants born between 700-1000g in 1978-79 who survived must have differed greatly from those babies of similar birth weight described in 1948, e.g. of the 53 babies, 26 were on mechanical ventilation for at least two weeks. Despite these differences, the babies in this study grew at rates similar to the larger, more healthy babies described by the 1000g Dancis curve and approximating the rate of in utero growth after re-achieving birth weight.
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Werthammer, J., Epstein, M. & Taeusch, H. 1462 GROWTH RATES FOR INFANTS >1000 GRAMS. Pediatr Res 15 (Suppl 4), 687 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-01491
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-01491