Postnatal growth measurements in infants born at <34 weeks’ gestational age and cared for in a neonatal unit in Malaysia and one in the UK
| Variables | Malaysia, n=50 | UK, n=50 | MD (95% CI) | P value |
| Days to regain birth weight* | 12 (11–14) | 13 (10–16) | −1 (−3.17 to 1.17) | 0.247 |
| Maximum weight loss from birth weight (%)* | 4.4 (1.9–7.5) | 5.7 (2.5–9.4) | −1.25 (−3.63 to 1.14) | 0.275 |
| Weight (g) at discharge* | 2060 (1890–2390) | 2165 (2050–2380) | −105 (−252.02 to 42.02) | 0.221 |
| Weight Z-score at discharge* | −1.65 (−2.3 to −1.0) | −1.3 (−1.8 to -0.80) | −0.35 (−0.77 to 0.08) | 0.088 |
| Changes in weight Z-score from birth to discharge† | −1.31 (0.57) | −1.33 (0.58) | 0.01 (−0.22 to 0.23) | 0.975 |
| Infants with weight Z- score decrease ≥1.28 from birth to discharge, n (%) | 26 (52) | 27 (54) | – | 0.841 |
| Head circumference at discharge, (cm)† | 31.5 (1.61) | 31.4 (1.39) | 0.34 (−0.29 to 0.98) | 0.287 |
| Head circumference Z-score at discharge* | −1.33 (−1.69 to −0.59) | −0.91 (−1.61 to −0.4) | −0.42 (−0.87 to 0.04) | 0.383 |
| Gestational age at discharge* | 36.5 (35–38) | 36 (35–37) | 0.50 (−0.53 to 1.52) | 0.060 |
| Length of stay (days)* | 36 (22–55) | 28.5 (20–52) | 7.5 (−3.87 to 18.87) | 0.157 |
P values and mean difference (MD) for comparisons between the two groups were determined by the Student’s t-test or Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables and by χ2 or Fisher’s exact tests for categorical variables, as appropriate.
*Median (IQR).
†Mean (SD).