Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Development of a Neonatal Piglet Acute Lung Injury Model Recreating the Early Environment of Preterm Infant Lungs
08:58

Development of a Neonatal Piglet Acute Lung Injury Model Recreating the Early Environment of Preterm Infant Lungs

Published on: October 31, 2025

577

Neonatal growth velocity of preterm infants: The weight Z-score change versus Patel exponential model

Laure Simon1,2, Matthieu Hanf3, Anne Frondas-Chauty1,2

  • 1Department of Neonatal Medicine, Nantes University Hospital, Nantes, France.

Plos One
|June 29, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Two methods for assessing preterm infant growth velocity show substantial disagreement in over a third of cases. The weight z-score (ZS) method may be more suitable for diverse preterm infant populations.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatalogy
  • Pediatric Growth Assessment
  • Biostatistics

Background:

  • Assessing growth velocity in preterm infants during neonatal hospitalization is crucial.
  • Existing methods, including the Patel exponential model (EM) and Fenton growth curves (weight z-score, ZS), have not been directly compared.
  • Understanding agreement between these methods is essential for accurate growth monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the agreement between two growth velocity assessment methods: EM (g/kg/d) and ZS (Fenton curves).
  • To identify factors influencing the agreement between these growth velocity assessment methods.

Main Methods:

  • Included 3954 preterm infants born before 33 weeks gestation.
  • Calculated growth velocity using both EM and ZS methods.
  • Employed linear regression to predict EM velocity from ZS and assessed agreement using predefined difference thresholds (-2 to +2 g/kg/day for fair agreement, >±4 g/kg/day for poor agreement).

Main Results:

  • Fair agreement was observed in 62.5% of infants, poor agreement in 32.3%, and disagreement in 5.2%.
  • Birth weight and gestational age accounted for 31% and 25% of the variance in the differences between the two methods, respectively.
  • Substantial disagreement occurred in over one-third of the infants studied.

Conclusions:

  • Significant disagreement exists between EM and ZS methods for assessing preterm infant growth velocity in a substantial proportion of infants.
  • The ZS method, which incorporates infant gestational age and gender, may offer a more suitable approach for analyzing growth in preterm infants across a wide range of gestational ages.
Abstract

More Related Videos

Transcutaneous Microcirculatory Imaging in Preterm Neonates06:27

Transcutaneous Microcirculatory Imaging in Preterm Neonates

Published on: December 31, 2015

8.5K
Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit11:50

Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Published on: January 7, 2020

27.5K

Related Concept Videos

Exponential Growth01:29

Exponential Growth

Bacterial populations exhibit exponential growth when conditions such as nutrient availability and temperature are favorable. In this phase, cells reproduce through binary fission, where each cell divides into two identical daughter cells. This process causes the population to double at regular intervals, resulting in a growth rate that is directly proportional to the current number of cells. As the population increases, the number of new cells formed during each generation also grows, creating...
44
Molecular Weight of Step-Growth Polymers01:08

Molecular Weight of Step-Growth Polymers

Step growth polymerization involves bi or multifunctional monomers. Bifunctional monomers react to form linear step growth polymers, whereas multifunctional monomers react to form non-linear or branched polymers.
As the step-growth polymerization involves step-wise condensation of monomers, the molecular weight also builds up eventually. Consequently, high molecular weight polymers are obtained at the late stages of the polymerization, where 99% of monomers have been consumed.
The extent of the...
2.7K
Exponential and Sinusoidal Signals01:18

Exponential and Sinusoidal Signals

The exponential function is crucial for characterizing waveforms that rise and decay rapidly. This continuous-time exponential function is defined using exponential terms with constants α and A. When both constants are real, the function is represented as,
695
Exponential Fourier series01:24

Exponential Fourier series

In audio signal processing, the exponential Fourier series plays a crucial role in sound synthesis, allowing complex sounds to be broken down into simpler sinusoidal components. This decomposition process is fundamental in analyzing and reconstructing musical notes and other audio signals. The exponential Fourier series expresses periodic signals as the sum of complex exponentials at both positive and negative harmonic frequencies, providing a powerful tool for signal analysis.
Euler's identity...
686
Population Growth00:57

Population Growth

Population size is dynamic, increasing with birth rates and immigration, and decreasing with death rates and emigration. In ideal conditions with unlimited resources, populations can increase exponentially, which plots as a J-shaped growth rate curve of population size against time. This type of curve is characteristic of newly-introduced invasive species, or populations that have suffered catastrophic declines and are rebounding.
28.0K
Introduction to z Scores01:06

Introduction to z Scores

A z score (or standardized value) is measured in units of the standard deviation. It tells you how many standard deviations the value x is above (to the right of) or below (to the left of) the mean, μ. Values of x that are larger than the mean have positive z scores, and values of x that are smaller than the mean have negative z scores. If x equals the mean, then x has a zero z score. It is important to note that the mean of the z scores is zero, and the standard deviation is one.
z scores...
11.0K