Newborn Mid-Upper Arm Circumference Identifies Low-Birth Weight and Vulnerable Infants: A Secondary Analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Low birth weight (LBW) infants are at increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Identification of LBW may not occur in settings where access to reliable scales is limited. Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) may be an accessible, low-cost measure to identify LBW and vulnerable infants.

Objectives

We explored the validity of newborn MUAC in identifying LBW and vulnerable newborns in rural Sierra Leone.

Methods

This study was a secondary analysis of infant data from a randomized controlled clinical trial of supplementary food and anti-infective therapies compared with standard care for undernourished pregnant women. Data for singleton liveborn infants with birth measurement and 6-mo survival data were included in this analysis. The primary outcome was validity of MUAC in identifying low-birth weight (LBW) neonates. Secondary outcomes included validity of MUAC and head circumference (HC) in identifying weight-for-length z-score (WLZ) <-2, length-for-age z-score (LAZ) <-2, neonatal mortality, and mortality within the first 6 mo of life.

Results

The study population included 1167 infants, 229 (19.6%) with LBW. Birth MUAC (r = 0.817) and HC (r = 0.752) were highly correlated with birth weight. MUAC (AUC: 0.905; 95% CI: 0.884, 0.925) performed superiorly to HC (AUC: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.856, 0.904) in identifying LBW. The MUAC for identifying LBW was 9.6 cm (sensitivity: 0.86; specificity: 0.78). Neither MUAC nor HC reliably identified newborns with WLZ <-2 or LAZ <-2. MUAC ≤9.0 cm was the ideal cutoff for neonatal mortality (sensitivity: 53.3%; specificity: 89.7%; HR: 9.57; 95% CI: 1.86, 49.30). Birth anthropometrics did not reliably identify infants at risk of death in the first 6 mo of life.

Conclusions

MUAC was used successfully to identify LBW infants and infants at risk of neonatal mortality in Sierra Leone. Further evidence is needed to support increased use of newborn MUAC measurement to identify LBW infants and infants at risk of neonatal mortality in community settings where scales are not available. Primary trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03079388.

Lay summary

Mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) can be used to identify infants with low birth weight and infants at risk for neonatal mortality, with an MUAC ≤9.0 cm indicating the highest risk.

SUBMITTER: Hendrixson DT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9718650 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature