π₯ Parkland Formula Calculator
24-hour burn fluid resuscitation, split 8 and 16 hours.
For informational purposes only, not medical advice. Consult a healthcare professional.
The Parkland formula has guided burn resuscitation since Baxter and Shires published it in the 1960s: 4 mL of crystalloid per kilogram per percent of burned body surface area over the first 24 hours, with half given in the first 8 hours. It answers the central early question in major burns, which is how much fluid the capillary leak will demand before the patient is reassessed. This calculator runs the formula and splits the total into the classic 8-hour and 16-hour halves with hourly rates. It is a teaching and reference tool; real resuscitation is titrated to urine output and clinical signs.
How to Use This Calculator
Enter the weight in kilograms and the burn size as percent of total body surface area, counting only second and third degree burns. The calculator gives the 24-hour total and the two timed halves.
Estimate TBSA with the rule of nines or a Lund-Browder chart, counting partial-thickness and full-thickness burns only. First-degree burns do not count.
Enter the weight. The formula scales linearly with weight, so an honest weight matters more than a precise TBSA decimal.
Read the 24-hour total, the first-8-hour half, and the hourly rates. In real resuscitation these are starting targets titrated to urine output, not fixed orders.
How the Math Works
Multiply 4 mL by weight in kg by percent TBSA to get the 24-hour crystalloid total. A 70 kg patient with 40 percent burns needs 4 times 70 times 40, which is 11,200 mL. Half of that, 5,600 mL, goes in the first 8 hours from the time of the burn, not the time of arrival, at 700 mL per hour; the remaining 5,600 mL goes over the next 16 hours at 350 mL per hour. Lactated Ringers is the traditional fluid. The modified Brooke formula uses 2 mL instead of 4 and some centers start there to avoid fluid overload, but Parkland remains the reference most clinicians learn first.
Worked Example
A 70 kg patient with 40 percent second-degree burns needs 11,200 mL of crystalloid in the first 24 hours. Half, 5,600 mL, is given in the first 8 hours from the moment of the burn at about 700 mL/hr per hour, and the rest over the following 16 hours. In practice the team watches urine output, aiming for roughly 0.5 mL per kg per hour, and adjusts the rate up or down from this starting plan.
Reading Your Result
The 24-hour total is a starting estimate, not a prescription set in stone. Under-resuscitation risks kidney injury and burn shock; over-resuscitation causes compartment syndromes and lung injury, which is why modern practice titrates to urine output of 0.5 to 1 mL per kg per hour and mean arterial pressure. If the burn happened hours before presentation, the missed fluid from the first-8-hour window is typically caught up, not skipped. Electrical and chemical burns need extra assessment beyond any formula.
| Window | Share of total | Example (70 kg, 40%%) |
|---|---|---|
| First 8 hours | One half | 5,600 mL at 700 mL/hr |
| Next 16 hours | One half | 5,600 mL at 350 mL/hr |
| 24-hour total | Full | 11,200 mL |
Limitations
Parkland estimates crystalloid needs only; it does not cover colloids, blood products, inhalation injury management, or escharotomy decisions. TBSA estimates vary widely between assessors, and a 10-point TBSA error swings the total by thousands of milliliters. Children need additional maintenance fluids with glucose. Major burns belong in a burn center, and this calculator is for study and reference, not for directing care.
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For informational purposes only, not medical advice. Consult a healthcare professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Parkland formula?
A burn resuscitation formula from the 1960s: 4 mL of crystalloid per kg of body weight per percent of total body surface area burned, given over the first 24 hours. Half is administered in the first 8 hours from the time of injury and half over the next 16 hours. It remains the most widely taught starting point for adult burn fluid management.
What is TBSA and how is it estimated?
Total body surface area burned, expressed as a percent. Adults use the rule of nines: head 9 percent, each arm 9, each leg 18, front torso 18, back torso 18, perineum 1. Children use the Lund-Browder chart because head proportions differ. Only second-degree (partial thickness) and third-degree (full thickness) burns count.
Do first-degree burns count in the Parkland formula?
No. Sunburn-type first-degree burns do not cause the capillary leak that drives fluid resuscitation, so they are excluded from the TBSA used in the formula. Counting them inflates the fluid total and risks overload.
When does the 8-hour clock start?
At the time of the burn, not the time of hospital arrival. A patient arriving 3 hours after injury has 5 hours left in the first window, and the missed fluid is usually made up rather than skipped. Documenting the exact burn time is therefore part of the resuscitation.
What fluid is used?
Lactated Ringers is the traditional choice because its composition resembles plasma and large saline volumes can cause hyperchloremic acidosis. The formula specifies crystalloids; blood products and colloids are separate decisions driven by hemoglobin, coagulation, and response.
What is the modified Brooke formula?
A variant using 2 mL per kg per percent TBSA instead of 4, with the same 8 and 16 hour split. Some centers prefer it as a starting point because Parkland-based resuscitation has trended toward giving more fluid than patients need, a problem called fluid creep. Both are starting estimates titrated to urine output.
How is the fluid rate adjusted in real care?
By urine output, targeting 0.5 to 1 mL per kg per hour in adults, plus blood pressure, lactate, and clinical signs. If urine output is low, the rate goes up; if the patient is making plenty of urine, it comes down. The formula proposes, the kidneys dispose.
Does Parkland apply to children?
With modification. Children get the formula-based resuscitation volume plus age-appropriate maintenance fluids containing dextrose, since they deplete glycogen fast. Pediatric burns are managed with pediatric-specific protocols, and this adult-focused calculator should not direct pediatric care.
What is fluid creep?
The observed tendency for burn patients to receive substantially more fluid than the formula predicts, driven by formula stacking, extra boluses, and reluctance to turn rates down. Excess fluid worsens swelling, compartment pressures, and lung injury, which is why modern teaching stresses titration over formula obedience.
Which burns need a burn center?
Generally: partial-thickness burns over 10 percent TBSA, any full-thickness burn, burns of the face, hands, feet, genitalia, or major joints, electrical and chemical burns, inhalation injury, and burns in very young, old, or medically complex patients. The American Burn Association publishes formal referral criteria, and major burns should be transferred early.