Vital signs
Weight
For education. Check every result.
Anatium is a study resource, not medical advice. Nothing here is a diagnosis, a prescription or a substitute for a clinician who has seen the patient. Check every number against a current local protocol before it touches anyone, and never act on a result you cannot reproduce yourself.
Reference range
| Range | 0 to 200 kg |
About
Body weight. Drives most drug doses, and a change over days in heart or kidney failure is fluid rather than tissue.
When it is low
Falling weight: malnutrition, malignancy, or in the acutely unwell a marker of negative fluid balance
When it is high
Rising weight in heart failure or renal disease usually means fluid, not fat - a 1 kg gain is roughly 1 litre retained
How it is measured
Daily weight is the most reliable measure of fluid balance, more so than charted input and output, which is almost always incomplete. It also drives weight-based dosing.
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