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Published on: February 2, 2017
Accuracy of Height Measurement in the Inpatient Setting
Peter A Kahn1, Malgorzata Cartiera2, Walter Lindop3
1Peter A. Kahn is an instructor, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Abstract:
Accurate height measurement is critical for accurate dosing of medications, mechanical ventilation, and nutritional calculations. Prior research has identified inaccuracies with self-reported height, and height is notably important to measure accurately in critically ill patients. In this study, conducted in a large tertiary academic medical center, medical records rarely indicated the method of height measurement, and there were statistically significant variations in measured height across admissions.
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