Interdialytic weight gain is calculated as a percent of TW. What does TW stand for in this context?

Interdialytic weight gain is calculated as a percent of TW. What does TW stand for in this context?

• A. Total Weight
• B. Target Weight
• C. Treatment Weight
• D. Transitional Weight

Answer: (B)

Interdialytic weight gain is discussed in relation to a reference weight the care team uses to gauge fluid status, which is the target weight. The target weight is the patient’s prescribed dry weight after dialysis—the weight at which fluid has been removed enough to reach the goal fluid status. Expressing interdialytic weight gain as a percent of this target weight standardizes the measurement for different patients and treatment plans. In practice, you compare the pre-dialysis weight to the last post-dialysis dry weight and express the gain as a percentage of the target weight. For example, if the last dry weight (target weight) is 70 kg and the patient arrives for dialysis at 72.5 kg, the interdialytic weight gain is 2.5 kg, which is about 3.6% of the target weight (2.5/70 × 100). Other weights like total weight or nonstandard terms aren’t used as the reference for this percentage, so the correct expansion of TW in this context is Target Weight.

Interdialytic weight gain is discussed in relation to a reference weight the care team uses to gauge fluid status, which is the target weight. The target weight is the patient’s prescribed dry weight after dialysis—the weight at which fluid has been removed enough to reach the goal fluid status. Expressing interdialytic weight gain as a percent of this target weight standardizes the measurement for different patients and treatment plans.

In practice, you compare the pre-dialysis weight to the last post-dialysis dry weight and express the gain as a percentage of the target weight. For example, if the last dry weight (target weight) is 70 kg and the patient arrives for dialysis at 72.5 kg, the interdialytic weight gain is 2.5 kg, which is about 3.6% of the target weight (2.5/70 × 100).

Other weights like total weight or nonstandard terms aren’t used as the reference for this percentage, so the correct expansion of TW in this context is Target Weight.