title: Extravascular lung water and its association with weight, height, age, and gender: a study in intensive care unit patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  With regard to large inter-individual variability of height, body weight (BW), and age, several hemodynamic parameters are adjusted for biometric data. This also applies to extravascular lung water (EVLW), which traditionally was indexed to actual BW (BW-act) resulting in EVLW-index (EVLWI; i.e., EVLWI-act). Since indexation to BW-act might inappropriately diminish EVLWI-act in obese patients, the indexation has been changed to predicted BW (BW-pred) resulting in EVLWI-pred. BW-pred is a weight estimation formula calculated from height and gender that has not been derived from population-based data. The aim of the study was to investigate the independent association of biometric data with EVLW.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed a hemodynamic monitoring database including 3,691 transpulmonary thermodilution-derived EVLW measurements (234 consecutive patients; intensive care unit of a university hospital). We performed univariate and multivariate analyses regarding the association of biometric data with the first EVLW measurement and the mean EVLW value of each patient.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In univariate analysis, the first EVLW significantly correlated with height (r = 0.254; p < 0.001), but neither with age nor BW-act. Similar findings were made in the analysis of the patients' EVLW means of all measurements ("one point per patient"). In multivariate analysis (primary endpoint), including BW-act, height, age, and gender, only height was independently associated with EVLW, with each centimeter of height increasing the first measurement of EVLW by 6.882 mL (p < 0.001) and mean EVLW by 6.727 mL (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Height is the only biometric parameter independently associated with the first and mean EVLW. In adult patients, EVLW should be indexed to height.
authors.affiliation: II. Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik, Klinikum rechts der Isar der Technischen Universität München, Ismaninger Straße 22, 81675, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mair
authors.forename: Simon Q
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Götz
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tschirdewahn
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Siegel
authors.forename: Roland M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Saugel
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001699:Biometry; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D015633:Extravascular Lung Water / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D013815:Thermodilution