International Journal of Preventive Medicine (Int J Prev Med)2008-7802012015022414851485EN20150224<strong>Background:</strong> In pediatric resuscitation, it is necessary to distinguish the weight in order to provide proper doses of drugs, equipment selection, and ventilator settings, therefore, access to a simple, unbiased, and accurate formula can decrease mistakes. The aim of this study is to determine the percentage of error (PE) of different weight estimation methods toward actual weight in children&nbsp;<br />admitted to17 Shahrivar Hospital.<br /><strong>Methods:</strong> This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted on 1&ndash;10 years children admitted in the pediatric clinic of 17 Shahrivar Hospital in Rasht. Data were collected by a checklist, including age, sex, height and mid-arm circumference (MAC). Investigators compared estimated weight by ten different methods with the actual weight. Finally, clinicians measured the PE and data were analyzed in SPSS software version.18.<br /><strong>Results:</strong> About 50.9% of participants were male. The mean age was 4.59 &plusmn; 3.35 years and the mean weight was 17.4 &plusmn; 5.69 (6.5&ndash;45) kg. Results showed no signifcant difference between the estimated weight and the actual one based on visual expert estimation and advanced pediatric life support (APLS) method. Visual estimation (0.017%) and MAC (25.48%) noted the lowest and highest PE, respectively.<br />Conclusions: Results indicated a signifcant difference between the estimated weight and the actual one based on visual expert&rsquo;s estimation and APLS method. As, these methods were easy, rapid and accurate for body weight estimation in emergencies and may be more accurate&nbsp;<br />than parent&rsquo;s estimation, it seems that it could be helpful for prescribing medication dosage and equipment sizes.<br /><strong>Keywords:</strong> Body weight, child, emergencies, error, estimationhttp://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/view/1485http://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/download/1485/1767