| Keywords |
Body surface area ; Neonates ; Weight ; Height |
| Abstract |
While the direct measurement of body surface area (BSA) is impractical, there is an urgent need for the accurate BSA estimation in neonates considering increasing of high-risk infants. Particularly, it would be feasible to have a BSA equation using only weight of neonate, considering the body posture and inconvenience of measuring height of neonates. A research was conducted to develop BSA equation using weight of 5014 neonates including verylow-birth weight infants. BSA of subjects was calculated using existing BSA equations, from which Mean-BSA was arithmetically derived as a true BSA. Multiple-regression was performed to generate the equation for Mean-BSA with the best goodness-of-fitness of weight and height using Excel and SPSS 16.0. Then the final BSA equation with weight of neonates (Ahn-BSA) was formulated using the relationship between weight and height. Ahn-BSA equation was as follows: Ahn-BSA = 10.8 ×W0.6539. The validity of Neo-BSA was examined using 3-D scanning of neonate-simulator and paired t-test between Mean-BSA and Ahn-BSA. Ahn-BSA, using only body weight, could provide an accurate measurement of BSA in neonates from very low birth weight to normal weight. It would accelerate understanding the body of knowledge and serve as a base for accurate application of various interventions in BSA practice for neonates. |