Accuracy of Patient Height, Weight and Ideal Body Weight Estimates in the Emergency Department.

Context: The purpose of this study was to establish the accuracy of emergency medicine professionals' estimates of a sample of patients' heights, weights and ideal body weights (IBW).

Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey study with 69 emergency medicine professionals concerning estimates of five standardized patients. Board-certified emergency physicians, emergency medicine residents and emergency department nurses were asked to estimate patient height, weight and (IBW) by looking at a series of photographs of five standardized patients with varied body types.