Estimation of body weight using anthropometric parameters in Sri Lankan hospitalized adult patients.

Body weight is an important clinical parameter for accurate dosing of drugs with a narrow therapeutic window, However, it is difficult to measure the body weight of a patient if they cannot stand on a scale. There are several anthropometrics-based equations to estimate the body weight, but most of these are derived from white Caucasian populations and are not validated for South Asians. This study aimed to validate existing anthropometrics-based weight estimation equations and develop a new equation for the same purpose for Sri Lankan adults. This prospective study was conducted at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka over a 6-month period, split into a development and a validation phase. During the development phase, estimated body weight of patients by doctors and nurses and patients themselves were noted and compared against their actual body weight. In addition, 13 anthropometric measurements were taken, which were used to validate 12 anthropometrics-based equations to estimate body weight described in literature previously. Two new gender specific regression models to estimate the body weight in the local population was also derived and validated. A total of 502 (males = 249) and 217 (males = 108) patients were recruited for the development and validation phases respectively. Both doctors and patients had comparable accuracy in predicting body weight (p>0.05). All anthropometric based equations were significantly correlated with actual body weight (correlation coefficients: 0.741-0.869), and the new equations derived from the local data performed similarly to the best performing equation identified from the literature during validation phase. However, even the best of these equations could not outperform patient/physician estimates. When the patient weight cannot be measured, an estimate by the patient or the doctor may be the best substitute.

Attitudes on euthanasia among medical students and doctors in Sri Lanka: a cross sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Euthanasia is a topic of intense ethical debate and it is illegal in most countries at present, including Sri Lanka. The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional study of medical students and practicing doctors was to explore the acceptance of euthanasia and physician assisted suicide (PAS), and factors influencing this opinion. METHODS: A customised online questionnaire which explored opinions on euthanasia was administered to first and final year medical undergraduates in University of Colombo and practicing doctors with more than 5 years of work experience at The National Hospital of Sri Lanka. Attitudes on euthanasia and PAS were also assessed with the attitudes towards euthanasia (ATE) Scale, which is a 10-item questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 425 individuals responded (males: 178, 42%, age: median - 27 years), which included 143 (33.6%) first-year medical undergraduates, 141 (33.2%) final-year medical undergraduates and 141 (33.2%) practicing doctors. More participants (200, 47.1%) favoured legalizing euthanasia than those directly opposing it (110, 25.9%), but a significant proportion (27%) remained undecided. The mean scores of ATE questionnaire from the whole sample were generally unfavourable towards euthanasia/PAS. Accepting euthanasia as an option for oneself (p = < 0.001) was the strongest predictor of favouring euthanasia/PAS or supporting its legalization. CONCLUSION: In this cross-sectional survey, more respondents supported legalisation of euthanasia in Sri Lanka than those openly opposing it. Yet, a significant minority that responded as "undecided" for legalisation, were more likely to have unfavourable ATE.