Development and Validation of a Neonatal Physical Maturity Score for Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Currently available gestational age scoring systems are complex and inaccurate for wider use in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), particularly in infants with neonatal encephalopathy. Here, we aimed to develop a scoring system based on physical characteristics for identifying late preterm infants from term infants.

Study design

This was a prospective observational study conducted in 2 phases- the discovery phase and validation phase. In the first phase, we examined the accuracy of 10 objective physical characteristics in a prospective cohort of 1,006 infants recruited from three hospitals in South India. A weighted scoring system and a photo card were then developed based on the six best performing characteristics which were validated in another prospective

SUBMITTER: Krishnan V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11105931 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature