International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics | December 2021 | Vol 8 | Issue 12 Page 1926 International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics Upadhyay N et al. Int J Contemp Pediatr. 2021 Dec;8(12):1926-1931 http://www.ijpediatrics.com pISSN 2349-3283 | eISSN 2349-3291 Original Research Article Foot length as a surrogate maker to identify birth weight Nitesh Upadhyay, Minhajuddin Ahmed* INTRODUCTION Birth weight is affected by socio-demographic, clinical, racial, hereditary, personal and even seasonal and geographical factors. It is not only a critical determinant of survival, future growth and development of the child but also, a valuable indicator of maternal health, nutrition and quality of antenatal services. 1 Birth weight has been accepted as the most important reliable index of the health status of the community and is an indicator of neonatal morbidity and mortality. 2 About 15% or 20.3 million of all live birth worldwide are estimated to be LBW i.e. <2500 gm and account for 60- 80% of all neonatal deaths. 3-5 Additionally, some 96.1% or 19.5 million LBW infants live in developing countries, with sub Saharan Africa accounting for about one fifth. 4,5 It is estimated that about 30% of babies born in India are LBW and prematurity contributes to over 80% of all neonatal deaths in developing countries and according to national family health survey phase III, prevalence of LBW babies is 22.5%. 6 Accurate weight record is a sensitive index of their well-being and availability of a sturdy and reliable weighing machine fulfils fundamental need. In the recent years, there has been a considerable interest in using simple anthropometric measures as a proxy for birth weight and gestational age. In response to the demand for a rapid, explicit, simple, and reliable screening approach for LBW, other anthropometric measurement at birth have been studied as surrogates for ABSTRACT Background: Gestational age and birth weight is an important predicator for morbidity and mortality in neonates. Aim was to determine the correlation of foot length with birth weight and gestational age in neonates. Methods: This was a prospective observational study done in the neonatal unit department of pediatrics in Chirayu medical college and hospital, Bhopal. There were 1739 deliveries included during the study period from January 2016 to December 2020. Study group comprised of all live born babies delivered in within 24 hours of birth who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Results: The study comprised of 1739 newborn babies, out of which 896 (51.51%) were males and 843 (48.49%) were females. Male:female ratio 1.06:1. In our study group, 337 (15.6%) babies were preterm and 1385 (84.39%) were of term gestation. We found a positive linear correlation of foot length with all birth weight groups in a newborn with a correlation coefficient (r=0.78) and p<0.001 was found. Similarly, a positive correlation of foot length and gestational age of newborn in both term and preterm babies with (r=0.83) with p<0.01. Foot length has 87.4% sensitivity and 91.7% specificity among low-birth-weight babies with respect to cut off foot length of 75.5 mm. Foot length has 78.7% sensitivity and 63.7% specificity among preterm babies. Conclusions: Foot length can be used as a screening tool to identify low birth weight (LBW) and preterm babies as it had a higher sensitivity and specificity. Keywords: Foot length, Pre-term, LBW, Newborn Department Of Pediatrics, Chirayu Medical College and Hospital, Bhaisakhedi, Bhopal Indore Highway, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India Received: 07 November 2021 Revised: 21 November 2021 Accepted: 22 November 2021 *Correspondence: Dr. Minhajuddin Ahmed, E-mail: minzahmad@yahoo.co.in Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2349-3291.ijcp20214530