Home > Body surface area

1 Uses

Examples of uses of the BSA:

• Renal function is usually fractioned over the BSA to gain an appreciation of the true required glomerular filtration rate (GFR);
• The Quetelet index uses a somewhat modified form of the BSA;
• The cardiac index is a measure of cardiac output divided by the BSA, giving a better approximation of the required cardiac output;
• Chemotherapy is often dosed according to the patient's BSA.
• Glucocorticoid dosing is also expressed in terms of BSA for calculating maintenance doses or to compare high dose use with maintenance requirement.

2 Calculation

Various calculations have been published to arrive at the BSA without direct measurement, starting in 1916. The most commonly used is the Mosteller formula, published in 1987:

Metric (weight in kg and height in cm):

Imperial (weight in pounds, height in inches):

3 Normal values

• "Normal" BSA is generally taken to be 1.7 m².
• Average BSA for men: 1.9 m²
• Average BSA for women: 1.6 m²
• Average BSA for child (9 years): 1.07 m²
• Average BSA for child (10 years): 1.14 m²
• Average BSA for child (12-13 years): 1.33 m²

4 References

• Mosteller RD. Simplified calculation of body-surface area. N Engl J Med 1987;317:1098. PMID 3657876.

5 External link

• BC Cancer network BSA calculation guidelines.