title: Can ED staff accurately estimate the weight of adult patients?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study was to determine the accuracy of adult weight estimates by emergency department personnel.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a prospective, nonrandomized, observational study in a university tertiary referral center. All patient care staff and all adult patients were eligible. Patients were weighed at the bedside, then staff were asked individually for estimates. Data were analyzed using SPSS general linear modeling procedures (SPSS, Chicago, IL) to obtain a generalized analysis of variance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighty-seven staff provided 957 estimates on 241 patients. Providers were within 5% of true weight on 33% of estimates (95% confidence interval [CI], 28-38). In our a priori subgroups, a significant difference was noted only for body mass index (BMI); percentages of correct estimates were 16% (95% CI, 0-33; n = 33) for BMI < 18.5; 38% (95% CI, 33-43; n = 654) for 18.5 < or = BMI < or = 30; and 23% (95% CI, 17-30; n = 270) for BMI > 30 (P < .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Emergency department personnel provided accurate weights in only 33% of estimates. Estimates became significantly less accurate in underweight and obese patients (defined by BMI).
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA 92868, USA. ckahn@uci.edu
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Kahn
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Oman
authors.forename: Scott E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Rudkin
authors.forename: Craig L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Deeba
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sultani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001835:Body Weight; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity; D015588:Observer Variation; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013851:Thinness