Patient self-estimation of weight is accurate in adult emergency care, but all methods have potential limitations to use, according to a review published in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine. Mike Wells, MBBCh, PhD, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to examine the performance and suitability of existing weight estimation methods for use in adult emergency care. Ninety-five studies were reviewed, which described 27 methods of total body weight estimation; the meta-analysis included 42 studies. Based on pooled estimates of accuracy, the most accurate methods were three-dimensional camera estimates, patient self-estimates, the Lorenz method, and family estimates (88.8%, 88.7%, 77.5%, and 75.0%, respectively). All methods had significant potential limitations to use in emergency care.
