Abdominal girth

Nursing Students Student Assist

Published

Hi! I have our case study of dengue hemorrhagic fever this week. I measure the abdominal girth of 5 years old @ 53.5cm i didn't know if this is normal or not. I hope you can help me. please!!!:saint:Thanks.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

that converts to a 21 inch waist. is that about normal for a child of that age? abdominal girth measurements are only helpful when you do more than one of them on successive days and they are then compared with each other. they tell you if the patient is retaining fluids or gas--that is their value as an assessment.

you can find information about dengue on these websites:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

How can we find if the abdominal girth of 21 inches of a 5 years old is normal? Thanks:scrying:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

how about taking a tape measure and going out to a playground and measuring the waist of a few kids? do you have any nieces or nephews of this age? or take a tape measure into a store of kids clothes and take measurements. go online and look at the measurement charts for children's clothes.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Psych.

I sew clothes for my kids and correspond with other seamstresses. This is a very typical waist measurement for any child under 12. It might be a tad on the thin side, but definitely within the normal range. Something you'll find if you ever get into measuring kids is that they grow upward almost exclusively until they hit puberty. Chest, waist and hip measurements are nearly the same during those years. And on an anecdotal level, my 10year old's waist is the same as my 4 year old. HTH

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment