• Sally Britnell, Steve Taylor, and Jane Koziol-McLain.
• Department of Nursing, School of Clinical Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand. sally.britnell@aut.ac.nz.
• Emerg Med Australas. 2016 Oct 1; 28 (5): 558-63.

ObjectiveTo derive novel emergency weight estimation tables for New Zealand children aged 5-10 years using ethnicity and sex to increase accuracy and precision.MethodsUsing an existing dataset (collected in five New Zealand primary schools during July 2013; n = 376), body mass index and current emergency weight estimates were calculated. Stepwise regression with Akanke Information produced two best-fit models for predicting weight, one based on age and the other on height. Potential explanatory variables included ethnicity, sex and body habitus.ResultsThe length-based model included height, ethnicity and body habitus. Accuracy (weight estimates within 10% of actual weight) for the length-based lookup table (74.8%) was similar to that for the Broselow-Luten tape (73.4%). The age-based model included age, sex, ethnicity and body habitus. Accuracy (51.3%) for the age-based lookup table was better than for existing formulae including Shann (45.7%), Advanced Paediatric Life Support (39.1%) and Theron (28.7%).ConclusionThe most accurate method for weight estimation in Auckland children aged 5-10 years is either the novel length-based lookup table or the existing Broselow-Luten tape. When length-based methods are not possible, the age-based lookup tables incorporating age, sex, ethnicity and body habitus are more accurate than existing methods of weight estimation.© 2016 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine.

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