Now that increasing numbers of children are overweight and obese (up to 36% of 10 to 17 year olds now), 53% of this pediatric sample from West Virginia fell out of the Broselow tape estimate based on height. Of these, 77.1% of the incorrect weights were greater than that predicted by the Broselow.
It is West Virginia – not the healthiest state in the U.S. – but any hospital that serves a predominantly disadvantaged population may have similar results, and should realize that they may be under dosing their medications. The authors suggest only a couple alternative strategies, but I think we’re probably just best off using clinical judgement as to whether the tape is accurate in each individual clinical situation.
“Is the Broselow tape a reliable indicator for use in all pediatric trauma patients?”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21629149