Accuracy of Height Measurement in the Inpatient Setting

Kahn, Peter A. MD, MPH, ThM
Cartiera, Malgorzata PhD
Lindop, Walter MSc, MBA, MAM
Fogerty, Robert L. MD, MPH

¹ Peter A. Kahn is an instructor, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
² Malgorzata Cartiera is an innovation director, Center for Biomedical Innovation and Technology, Yale University; and Center for Health Care Innovation, Yale New Haven Health System.
³ Walter Lindop is an innovation consultant, Center for Health Care Innovation, Yale New Haven Health System.
⁴ Robert L. Fogerty is a director, Yale New Haven Hospital, and an associate clinical professor, Department of General Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine.

Corresponding author: Peter Kahn, MD, MPH, ThM, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, 20 York Street, Tompkins 206, New Haven CT 06504 (email: e-mail; [email protected]).

American Journal of Critical Care 30(1):p 77-79, January 2021. | DOI: 10.4037/ajcc2021780

Accurate height measurement is critical for accurate dosing of medications, mechanical ventilation, and nutritional calculations. Prior research has identified inaccuracies with self-reported height, and height is notably important to measure accurately in critically ill patients. In this study, conducted in a large tertiary academic medical center, medical records rarely indicated the method of height measurement, and there were statistically significant variations in measured height across admissions.