Goal: Accurately identify burn wound size to identify appropriate fluid resuscitation needs.
Estimating burn wound size may be difficult. Engage remote specialty consultants early. If possible, send pictures of wounds that have been cleaned and debrided.
- Best: When wounds are cleaned/debrided, recalculate TBSA using the Lund-Browder chart (Appendix B).
- Better: Same as minimum.
- Minimum: For small wounds, calculate the size of the wound by using the patient’s hand size (including fingers) to represent a 1% TBSA. For larger wounds, calculate the patient’s initial burn size using the Rule of Nines (Appendix C).