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Precision of weight measurement in critically ill infants: a technical report

Ben Gelbart1,2,3,4, Kate Masterson1,3, Alyssa Serratore1,3

  • 1Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Critical Care and Resuscitation : Journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine
|December 4, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Weighing critically ill infants in paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) is precise, with a mean weight difference of 1.3%. This safe and accurate method can help monitor fluid accumulation in vulnerable infants.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
  • Neonatal Monitoring
  • Clinical Measurement Science

Background:

  • Accurate weight measurement is crucial for managing critically ill infants.
  • Fluid accumulation monitoring is vital in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs).
  • Previous data on the precision of infant weight measurements in PICUs is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the precision of weight measurements in mechanically ventilated infants in a PICU.
  • To determine the mean percentage difference and agreement of consecutive infant weight measurements.
  • To evaluate the safety and utility of infant weighing in intensive care settings.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective cohort study design.
  • Inclusion of mechanically ventilated infants admitted to a PICU.
  • Measurement of consecutive infant weights and calculation of mean percentage difference and intraclass correlation.

Main Results:

  • Thirty infants were enrolled, with a median age of 13 days.
  • The mean difference between consecutive weight measurements was 1.3% (SD, 1.0%).
  • Test-retest agreement was high (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.99), with 87% of measurements showing ≤ 2.5% difference.

Conclusions:

  • Weighing mechanically ventilated, critically ill infants in intensive care is safe and precise.
  • The observed mean weight difference of 1.3% suggests high measurement accuracy.
  • Accurate infant weighing can serve as a valuable tool for monitoring fluid balance in PICU patients.

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