Step right up! Healthcare provider weight estimation vs. a professional weight guesser

Development and validation of a length- and habitus-based method of total body weight estimation for critically ill adults requiring urgent weight-based medical intervention

“…Guesses of weight by relatives and healthcare providers are often very inaccurate, with critical error rates of >40% [32-34]. Although some studies have shown reasonable accuracy, this is inconsistent and often when study populations are comprised mostly of normal weight patients weighing less than 100kg [35].…”

“…Two main factors characterise emergency weight estimation systems: accuracy and usability. Accuracy is important because, as Orlando and colleagues stated: “Estimates that deviate >10% from actual weight could make treatment itself life threatening” [34]. In addition to accuracy, usability is also important in a weight estimation system – it must not require a substantial amount of training to learn, and must be quick and easy to use, as weight estimation itself can lead to delays in emergency treatment [44].…”

Development and validation of a length- and habitus-based method of ideal and lean body weight estimation for critically ill adults requiring urgent weight-based medical intervention

“…It has been suggested that weight estimates that deviate more than 10% from actual, measured weight could result in treatment that itself is ineffective in underdose or life threatening in overdose [9]. Current evidence suggests that about 30 to 50% of weight estimation errors result in dose errors that reach the patient.…”

“…It is, therefore, important to be able to determine drug doses both accutely and easily in these patients. The ability to estimate the correct dose according to the patient's body habitus using the appropriate weight scalar might make the difference between treatment failure (dose too small), efficacious treatment (dose just right), and overdose with potentially harmful side effects (dose too large) [9]. However, using different weight descriptors for different drugs during the emergency care of obese patients may increase the complexity of the process of determining drug doses under already cognitively stressful circumstances.…”