Determination of hand and palm surface areas as a percentage of body surface area in Turkish young adults

Background and aim: This study was aimed to determine the total body surface area and percents of both palmar surface of the whole hand (hand surface area) and palm without fingers (palm surface area) in our population. Materials and methods: The study group consisted of 294 medical students (146 women, 148 men) aged 18-25 years and bilateral hand tracings were obtained from all subjects. Total body surface area was calculated using DuBois Formula and hand and palm surface area was calculated from hand tracings. Additionally, the hand and palm percentages of body surface area was determined by dividing handpalm area by total body surface area. Results: The mean value of total body surface area was 1.9 m2 and 1.63 m2 in men and women respectively. The area of tracing of the hand was 0.83% of the body surface area in men and 0.78% in women. Moreover, palm surface area was 0.43% and 0.39% of the body surface area in men and women respectively. Conclusion: Using patient’s own hand will be more accurate for determination of the area of the hand than the one percent rule to avoid an overestimation of fluid and caloric requirements and drug dosages. Correspondence to: Pınar Göker, Çukurova University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anatomy, 01330 Adana-Turkey, Tel: +90 322 338 60 60-3489; E-mail: pkarakas@cu.edu.tr