title: Clinical assessment of gestational age in the newborn infant. An evaluation of two methods.
abstract: The scoring systems of Dubowitz et al. and Parkin et al. were evaluated in two selected materials of newborn infants referred to a neonatal unit. Our estimation of gestational age by Dubowitz scores tended to be too high for the extreme prematures. "Small-for-dates" were also overestimated, whilst "appropriate-for-dates" and infants with respiratory difficulties were underestimated. "Large-for-dates" fell close to the standard curve. Ninety-five per cent confidence limits were up to +/- 5 weeks for Dubowitz scores and nearly +/- 6 weeks for Parkin scores. Further statistical analysis displayed some limitations in the use of linear regression formulas for scoring systems based on external and/or neurological characteristics. Thus, the results obtained with these methods must be used with caution in some selected newborn materials.
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D008722:Methods; D013223:Statistics as Topic