Difference between estimated and actual body weight in an intensive care unit-A service evaluation.
Jonas Monsees, Fionnuala Staunton, Aidan Morris and 3 others
PMID 39973117WHAT IT FOUND
ICU staff weight estimates were often wrong, with a median difference from actual weight of 7.9%.
Patients able to estimate were more accurate at 4.14%. Ideal and predicted body weight were far less accurate and should not replace actual weighing.
Key findings
01Staff estimates of ICU patient weight had a median difference from actual weight of 7.9%, and 11% of estimates were more than 20% away.
02Thirty-five patients estimated their own weight, with a median difference from actual weight of 4.14%, compared with 7.9% for staff estimates.
03Ideal body weight and predicted body weight were far less accurate than staff estimates, with median differences from actual weight of 18.57% and 18.15%.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only 100 patients from one five-bed surgical ICU were included, and the authors say the sample was too small for subgroup conclusions. Patients too unstable to hoist or on spinal precautions were excluded, so the sickest ICU patients may not be represented. Staff estimates were not tested for agreement between raters. There is no universally accepted error margin for weight estimates.
Declared interests
No funding was received. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that asking patients solves the problem for all ICU patients. Only 35 patients were able to estimate their own weight, and patients too unstable to hoist or on spinal precautions were excluded.