Abstract
ABSTRACT Background: Anthropometry is the science of measurement of human body and is important part of clinical examination. Foot length is an important the growth parameter. Aims & Objectives: (1) To determine correlation between foot length, weight & length of child. (2) To compare drug dosage calculated as per predicted weight from foot length with those calculated on the basis of actual weight. Materials and Methods: The study was a cross sectional study. After taking consent of the parents, 250 children age up to 2 years admitted in NICU and PICU during April 2008 to October 2008 were selected by purposive sampling. Information on anthropometric measurements like weight, Head circumference, height and foot length were collected and analyzed using appropriate software. Results: Out of 250 children, 113 (45.2%) are 0-28 days, 87 (34.8%) are 29 days to 1 year, 48 (21%) are between 1 to 2 years of age. 2 The scatter diagram demonstrate a significant correlation between foot length and weight (r = 0.948; p<0.01) and between foot 2 length and length (r = 0.94; p<0.01). The weight of the child up to 2 years can be calculated by mathematical formula, using best fit regression line is weight = - 4.55 + [1.222 + foot length in cm]. The dose calculated on the basis of predicted weight exceeded the standard dose up to + 2.48 - 2.50% for drugs. Conclusion: There is significant direct correlation between foot length and weight and also with length in child up to 2 years.