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Parkland Formula Calculator

Find burn fluid resuscitation volume.

Result

5,600 mL
2,800 mL
350 mL/h

How it is calculated

The Parkland formula gives the crystalloid volume for the first 24 hours after a burn: total mL = 4 × weight (kg) × %TBSA. Weight is body weight in kilograms and %TBSA is the percentage of total body surface area with burns, between more than 0 and 100. The tool then shows half of the total for the first 8 hours and the hourly rate for that period (half ÷ 8). The 8 hours are counted from the time of the burn, not from arrival at hospital. This is a starting estimate for trained clinicians, who adjust fluids by urine output and the patient's response. It is not a substitute for medical judgement.

Worked example

A 70 kg adult with burns over 20% of body surface. Total for 24 hours: 4 × 70 × 20 = 5,600 mL. First 8 hours: 5,600 / 2 = 2,800 mL. Rate for that period: 2,800 / 8 = 350 mL/h. The other 2,800 mL is spread over the following 16 hours.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Counting the 8 hours from arrival instead of from the injury. Time already passed shortens the period left for the first half.
  • Entering weight in pounds. The formula needs kilograms.
  • Including simple superficial redness in the %TBSA. Only deeper partial and full thickness burns are usually counted, which is a clinical assessment.
  • Entering 0.2 for 20%. %TBSA is a whole percentage and values of 0 or less, or above 100, are rejected.
  • Giving the total as a fixed order. The volume is adjusted to the patient's response.

About this calculator

This calculator applies the Parkland formula, Volume = 4 mL × body weight (kg) × %TBSA burned, to estimate the crystalloid fluid (typically Lactated Ringer's) a burn patient needs in the first 24 hours, with half of that volume given in the first 8 hours from the time of injury (not from admission) and the remaining half over the next 16 hours. %TBSA — total body surface area burned — is itself typically estimated using the Rule of Nines or a Lund-Browder chart before this formula is applied.

Emergency medicine physicians, burn unit nurses, and paramedics treating major burns in the field or ED use this to start fluid resuscitation promptly, since under-resuscitation risks shock and organ failure while over-resuscitation risks compartment syndrome and pulmonary edema. Enter the patient's weight and %TBSA burned to get the total and first-8-hour fluid volumes.

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