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Clinical height measurements are unreliable: a call for improvement

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Abstract

Summary

Height measurements are currently used to guide imaging decisions that assist in osteoporosis care, but their clinical reliability is largely unknown. We found both clinical height measurements and electronic health record height data to be unreliable. Improvement in height measurement is needed to improve osteoporosis care.

Introduction

The aim of this study is to assess the accuracy and reliability of clinical height measurement in a university healthcare clinical setting.

Methods

Electronic health record (EHR) review, direct measurement of clinical stadiometer accuracy, and observation of staff height measurement technique at outpatient facilities of the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. We examined 32 clinical stadiometers for reliability and observed 34 clinic staff perform height measurements at 12 outpatient primary care and specialty clinics. An EHR search identified 4711 men and women age 43 to 89 with no known metabolic bone disease who had more than one height measurement over 3 months. The short study period and exclusion were selected to evaluate change in recorded height not due to pathologic processes.

Results

Mean EHR recorded height change (first to last measurement) was −0.02 cm (SD 1.88 cm). Eighteen percent of patients had height measurement differences noted in the EHR of ≥2 cm over 3 months. The technical error of measurement (TEM) was 1.77 cm with a relative TEM of 1.04 %. None of the staff observed performing height measurements followed all recommended height measurement guidelines. Fifty percent of clinic staff reported they on occasion enter patient reported height into the EHR rather than performing a measurement. When performing direct measurements on stadiometers, the mean difference from a gold standard length was 0.24 cm (SD 0.80). Nine percent of stadiometers examined had an error of >1.5 cm.

Conclusions

Clinical height measurements and EHR recorded height results are unreliable. Improvement in this measure is needed as an adjunct to improve osteoporosis care.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA

    A. L. Mikula

  2. Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA

    S. J. Hetzel

  3. Department of Medicine – Geriatrics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

    N. Binkley

  4. Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, UWMF Centennial Building, 1685 Highland Ave, 6th Floor, Madison, WI, 53705, USA

    P. A. Anderson

Authors
  1. A. L. Mikula
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  2. S. J. Hetzel
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  3. N. Binkley
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  4. P. A. Anderson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. A. Anderson.

Ethics declarations

The University of Wisconsin (UW) Health Sciences Institutional Review Board reviewed and approved this investigation (2014–0536). Additional approval was obtained from the UW General Internal Medicine Research Committee, Department of Family Medicine Research Committee, and written consent from clinic managers at each site.

Conflicts of interest

Anthony Mikula, Scott Hetzel, Neil Binkley, and Paul Anderson declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Mikula, A.L., Hetzel, S.J., Binkley, N. et al. Clinical height measurements are unreliable: a call for improvement. Osteoporos Int 27, 3041–3047 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-016-3635-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-016-3635-2

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