Body surface area is used to help calculate the most accurate medication dosage for a patient. For example, some medications ordered for a pediatric patient may be based on body surface area (BSA) and strong medications, such as chemo agents (anticancer medications).
Pediatric Drugs Dose Calculator Based on Body wieght
Clark’s rule is an equation used to calculate pediatric medication dosage based on the known weight of a patient and a known adult dose of medication to be used. Click here for more information.
The Nomogram method or Catzel Rule is utilized to determine the correct pediatric medication dosage based specifically on the patient’s size. The patient’s size is identified as body surface area (BSA) in meters squared (M2).
Hollyday-Segar Method of Calculating Maintenance Fluid, Fluid Therapy
Holliday segar method is a widely acceptable method of calculating maintenance fluid, especially in children. It helps to estimate the fluid requirement in 24 hours. The method is based on the weight of patient in kilogram. This formula relates water loss to the caloric expenditure. That is, for every 100 kilocalories burned, the patient utilizes 100ml.