1. ¹Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Medical Center North, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
2. ²Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
3. ³Department of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA

Correspondence: WR Riddle, Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, R-1311, Medical Center North, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232-2675, USA. E-mail: bill.riddle@vanderbilt.edu

Received 26 January 2006; Revised 28 March 2006; Accepted 30 March 2006; Published online 4 May 2006.

Abstract

Growth charts are used in pediatric medicine to plot anthropomorphic measurements over time, serving as a screen for diseases related to a patient's nutritional and general health status. Whereas reference data for term infants are available from the Center for Disease Control, reference data for premature infants in a neonatal intensive care unit have not been established. Predictive curves for preterm patients, which are based on a patient's postmenstrual age and anthropomorphic measurements at birth, cannot be easily implemented with traditional paper-based methods. Preterm growth charts can be generated in an electronic health record system, but doing so requires mathematical equations or computer-readable tables. This report examines published perinatal growth curves and presents equations for predicted postnatal weight, head circumference and length in preterm infants.