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Reliability of in-bed weighing procedures for critically ill infants
Insights
This study found that the Smart Model 35 in-bed electronic scale provides reliable weight measurements for critically ill infants, crucial for accurate medication and fluid calculations.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Medical instrumentation
- Clinical reliability studies
Background:
- Accurate infant weight is critical for medication dosing and fluid management in neonatal intensive care units.
- In-bed electronic scales offer a potential solution for frequent and precise weight monitoring of critically ill infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the intra- and inter-examiner reliability of weight measurements using the Smart Model 35 in-bed electronic scale.
- To determine if weight measurement reliability differs between incubator and radiant warmer bed types.
Main Methods:
- 32 critically ill infants (16 incubator, 16 radiant warmer) had weights measured over three days.
- Two nurses performed two blinded weight measurements per infant using the in-bed scale.
- Data analyzed for mean absolute differences to assess reliability.
Main Results:
- Intra-examiner reliability: average mean absolute difference of 12.58 gm (incubator) and 19.19 gm (radiant warmer).
- Inter-examiner reliability: average mean absolute difference of 14.29 gm (incubator) and 24.42 gm (radiant warmer).
- Differences in reliability between bed types were statistically significant for both intra- and inter-examiner measurements.
Conclusions:
- The Smart Model 35 in-bed electronic scale demonstrates sufficient reliability for clinical use in critically ill infants.
- Reliability is adequate for calculating medication, parenteral fluids, blood replacement, and nutritional needs.
- Consideration of bed type (incubator vs. radiant warmer) may be necessary for optimal accuracy.
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to describe the intra- and interexaminer reliability of weight measurements obtained from critically ill infants on an in-bed electronic scale. Weight measurements were obtained using the in-bed scale (Smart Model 35, Olympic Medical, Seattle, Washington) for 32 infants; 16 were in an incubator, and 16 were under a radiant warmer. Two nurses each obtained two weight measurements for each infant for three consecutive days, for a total of 96 data collection sessions. The nurses were blinded to their own and to the other nurse's weight measurements. The average mean absolute difference for individual nurses' weight measurements (interexaminer reliability) was 12.58 gm for weights obtained in the incubator and 19.19 gm for weights obtained under the radiant warmer. The average mean absolute difference for pairs of nurses' weight measurements (interexaminer reliability) was 14.29 gm for weights obtained in the incubator and 24.42 gm for weights obtained under the radiant warmer. The average mean absolute differences for weights obtained in the two bed types differed significantly for both intra- (Z = -2.46, p = .0141) and interexaminer (Z = -3.11, p = .0019) reliability. The number of pieces of equipment that had to be held during the weight measurement was weakly correlated with both the intra- (rs = .1878, p = .0091) and interexaminer (rs = .1600, p = .0266) mean absolute differences. These findings suggest that weight measurements of critically ill infants obtained using the Smart Model 35 in-bed electronic scale are sufficiently reliable for calculation of medication, parenteral fluid, blood replacement, and nutritional requirements.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)