Comparison of the reliability of length and foot length measurements made with the standard and non standard method in newborn

Intrudiction: Monitoring growth and development is a very important step of the pediatric examination. By measuring the height, weight and head circumference values measured regularly from birth to growth curves, it is possible to recognize the abnormalities in growth early and take precautions accordingly. After the first intervention of the newborn baby in the delivery room, height, weight and head circumference are measured, recorded on the vaccination card and marked on the growth charts. It is important that the first measurements in the delivery room of the baby are carefully and meticulously, since it will determine the first reference in the percentile curve in its development. Modern incubators are equipped with systems that can weigh while babies are inside, and a reliable method for incision measurement is not yet available as far as we know. In our study, we wanted to measure the repeatability-reliability of the measurements made with the tape measure applied for infants who could not be removed from the incubator with the infantometer, which is the standard measurement method for the measurement of newborn babies, and the accuracy of the measurements made with the tape measure according to the infantometer. Foot length measurement is not a method used in daily practical application. However, many studies have found a link between foot length and SGA. The standard curve of the foot length to weeks has not been established as far as we know. In our study, we aimed to determine whether personal method and method difference in height and foot length measurement affect the reliability of the results. Materials Methods: The height and foot length measurements of 107 babies who were hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care of the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Training and Research Hospital on the specified days were performed. Initially, 4 different researchers made the measurements determined by drawing lots of A-B-C-D code letters. The researchers did not know each other's code letter and the method by which they measured, the vi data measured in terms of the reliability of the study was recorded on the computer by a different person using only codes (A, B, C, D measurement) in the SPSS program. Measurement of infant heights was done with tape measure by 2 different researchers, and infantometry by 2 researchers blindly. Measurement of infant foot lengths was done by tape measure by 2 different researchers and by using calipers by 2 researchers blindly. During the statistical analysis, the method of measurements made by A, B, C, D people was not specified to the statistician, statistical analyzes were done blindly. Results: The reliability coefficient (interclass correlation coefficient) between those who measured the length with the infantometer was 0.89, and the reliability coefficient between the people measuring the tape measure was 0.78. The reliability coefficient between the caliper and the people who measured the foot length was 0.84, and the reliability coefficient between the people measuring the tape measure was 0.51. We found that there was a significant correlation between birth length and foot length, birth weight and birth length and foot length, between gestation week and height and foot length. Result: We detected that the infantometer and tape measure used to measure the height of newborns had higher reliability coefficients in measurements made with infantometer. In foot length measurements with tape measure and caliper, we found that the reliability coefficient of measurements with caliper was higher. Keywords: Infantometer, tape measure, height measurement, newborn, foot length