Sylvain Goutelle1,2,3, Laurent Bourguignon4,5,6, Nathalie Bertrand-Passeron4,7, Roger W Jelliffe8, Pascal Maire4,5,6. 1. Hospices Civils de Lyon, Hôpital Antoine Charial, ADCAPT - Service Pharmaceutique, 40 Avenue de la Table de Pierre, 69340, Francheville, France. sylvain.goutelle@chu-lyon.fr. 2. Université Lyon 1, Lyon, 69003, France. sylvain.goutelle@chu-lyon.fr. 3. Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR CNRS 5558, Bat G. Mendel, 43 Boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France. sylvain.goutelle@chu-lyon.fr. 4. Hospices Civils de Lyon, Hôpital Antoine Charial, ADCAPT - Service Pharmaceutique, 40 Avenue de la Table de Pierre, 69340, Francheville, France. 5. Université Lyon 1, Lyon, 69003, France. 6. Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR CNRS 5558, Bat G. Mendel, 43 Boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France. 7. National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London Hospitals - NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Square, London, WC1N3BG, UK. 8. Laboratory of Applied Pharmacokinetics, Keck School of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Patients are not always weighed in hospitals. A visual estimate of patients' body weight is often used. Little information exists about the validity of this practice. We assessed the visual estimation of body weight in a population of elderly hospitalised patients. METHOD: Three observers performed a visual estimation of weight in 71 geriatric patients. Estimated body weights from each observer were compared to measured body weights. Various panels--three panels of two observers and two panels of three observers--were also evaluated. RESULTS: Overall results showed that a three observer panel gave better weight estimates than one or two individuals. CONCLUSION: While further clinical studies are necessary to confirm these findings, using the mean or the median of several visual estimates may be a practical solution for body weight estimation when weighing patients is not possible.
OBJECTIVE:Patients are not always weighed in hospitals. A visual estimate of patients' body weight is often used. Little information exists about the validity of this practice. We assessed the visual estimation of body weight in a population of elderly hospitalised patients. METHOD: Three observers performed a visual estimation of weight in 71 geriatric patients. Estimated body weights from each observer were compared to measured body weights. Various panels--three panels of two observers and two panels of three observers--were also evaluated. RESULTS: Overall results showed that a three observer panel gave better weight estimates than one or two individuals. CONCLUSION: While further clinical studies are necessary to confirm these findings, using the mean or the median of several visual estimates may be a practical solution for body weight estimation when weighing patients is not possible.
Authors: M Y Jung; M S Chan; V S F Chow; Y T T Chan; P F Leung; E M F Leung; T Y Lau; C W Man; J T F Lau; E M C Wong Journal: Asia Pac J Clin Nutr Date: 2004 Impact factor: 1.662
Authors: William L Hall; Gregory L Larkin; Mauricio J Trujillo; Jackie L Hinds; Kathleen A Delaney Journal: J Emerg Med Date: 2004-10 Impact factor: 1.484