Usefulness of calf circumference as a measure for screening low birth weight infants.

Usefulness of calf circumference (CC) for screening low birth weight (LBW) was assessed in comparison with other anthropometric measurements, crown heel and crown rump lengths (CHL, CRL), Chest (Ch C), head (HC) and arm (AC) circumferences in 256 infants within 24 hours of birth. Calf circumference showed highest degree of correlation (r = 0.83) with birth weight followed by arm and chest circumference and crown heel length. Step down multiple linear regression analysis of birth weight showed highest R2 value with combination of calf, arm and crown heel length (82.1%). Addition of other measurements did not improve the predictive value of the model. Sensitivity of these parameters in screening LBW infants (less than 2500 g) showed 95.7% critical limit for calf followed by 82.6% with arm circumference and 72.5% with crown heel length. False positive responses were similar (18-20%) with all the three parameters. Calf circumference being highly sensitive and easy to measure, is useful in screening most of the low birth weight infants in the communities where weighing scales are not available or cannot be used by peripheral workers.