Inaccuracy and delay in decision making in paediatric resuscitation, and a proposed reference chart to reduce error.

Abstract

Several surveys have noted the poor performance of junior hospital doctors in simulated cardiorespiratory arrest in adults. A further survey was undertaken to investigate inaccuracy and delay in the resuscitation of children. The results suggested that inaccuracy was a greater problem than delay.Because of the variation in size of children and the comparative infrequency of cardiorespiratory arrest in this age group a simple, versatile, and readily available reference chart is needed to aid rapid and accurate decisions.

Age-based formulae to estimate children's weight in the emergency department

“…Rather than use a formula at all, a standard growth chart of weight for age might be preferable 19 20. Firstly however, although growth charts are used in nonurgent settings, they are not always available in emergency situations.…”

Guidelines for paediatric life support

“…The first uses a length based calculation and a specifically designed tape measure 74. The other uses a length-weight-age nomogram chart 75,76. It is important to become familiar with one system.…”

Predicting Endotracheal Tube Size by Length in Newborns

“…Errors in weight estimation in premature infants can cause significant errors in drug dosing, fluid volumes, and equipment selection. Multiple resuscitation aids are available to calculate drug doses and equipment sizes but most of the methods require the estimation of weight, which can be fraught with error (11). In certain circumstances, length may correlate better with proper equipment size than does age or weight, even when these values are accurately obtained.…”