title: [Estimating weight accurately for safe treatment: body weight estimation in patients with acute ischaemic stroke is frequently inaccurate].
abstract: Patients with acute ischaemic stroke should receive intravenous thrombolysis with 0.9 mg/kg of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator as quickly as possible. In order to reduce the door-to-needle time, many physicians estimate the patient's body weight. However, these estimates are frequently inaccurate and inaccuracy can lead to dosage errors. According to a meta-analysis in a Cochrane study, the risk of developing intracranial haemorrhage is almost tripled for patients treated with higher thrombolytic doses, compared with patients receiving a dosage based on accurate weight measurements (odds ratio: 2.71). Only 28% of physicians estimate to within 5 kilograms of actual body weight. In order to reduce the risk of complications, patients arriving at the emergency room should be weighted with a scale. Alternatively, the body weight can be estimated using a validated nomogram.
authors.affiliation: Sint Lucas Andreas Ziekenhuis, afd. Neurologie, Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Stephanie I W
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: van de Stadt
authors.forename: Sander M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: van Schaik
authors.forename: Renske M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: van den Berg-Vos
mesh_terms: D001835:Body Weight; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D020521:Stroke / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy / Q000592:standards*; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator