Ideal Body Weight: The Complete Clinical Guide
IBW, adjusted body weight, ventilator tidal volumes, aminoglycoside dosing, and obesity dosing strategies
What Is Ideal Body Weight?
Ideal Body Weight (IBW) is a calculated estimate of the body weight at which physiological function and drug distribution are most predictable. Introduced by Devine (1974) for aminoglycoside dosing and later adopted for ventilator tidal volume calculations (ARDSNet 2000), it is now used across critical care, anaesthesia, and pharmacokinetic drug dosing. In obese patients, Adjusted Body Weight (AdjBW) splits the difference between IBW and actual weight to account for expanded volume of distribution in adipose tissue.
Female: IBW = 45.5 + 2.3 × (height in inches − 60)
Adjusted BW = IBW + 0.4 × (Actual BW − IBW) [if ABW > 120% IBW]
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- Devine BJ. Gentamicin therapy. Drug Intell Clin Pharm. 1974;8:650-655.
- The Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Network. Ventilation with lower tidal volumes as compared with traditional tidal volumes. N Engl J Med. 2000;342:1301-1308.
- BNF. Prescribing in hepatic impairment and obesity. Updated 2024.
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