Parkland Formula Calculator
Work out 24-hour burn fluid resuscitation from weight and %TBSA, with a rule-of-nines picker, hourly rates and a catch-up rate from the injury time.
Patient and burn
Wallace rule of nines — adult column
| Region | Region is | % of that region burned | Contributes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head and neck | 9% | 0.0% | |
| Right arm | 9% | 9.0% | |
| Left arm | 9% | 9.0% | |
| Anterior trunk (chest and abdomen) | 18% | 18.0% | |
| Posterior trunk (back and buttocks) | 18% | 0.0% | |
| Right leg | 18% | 0.0% | |
| Left leg | 18% | 0.0% | |
| Genitalia and perineum | 1% | 0.0% | |
| Total burn surface area | 36.0% |
Timing (all Parkland rates run from the time of injury, not the time of arrival)
Parkland plan
11,520 mL in 24 hours
Where you should be right now
The clock starts at the moment of the burn. If a patient arrives three hours after injury, the first eight hours' volume must still be completed by the eight-hour mark, which is why the catch-up rate above is often much higher than the nominal figure.
Estimates only, not medical advice, and never a substitute for burns-unit protocol. Parkland gives a starting rate, not a prescription: every modern guideline titrates to urine output (about 0.5 mL/kg/hr in adults, 1 mL/kg/hr in children) and to haemodynamics, because formula-driven volumes are strongly associated with over-resuscitation, or “fluid creep”, and its complications. Superficial erythema is not counted in %TBSA. The rule of nines is a rapid field estimate and routinely misjudges area by several points; Lund-Browder charting is more accurate, especially in children, and the patient's palm with fingers is roughly 1%. Inhalation injury, electrical burns, delayed presentation and pre-existing cardiac or renal disease all change the requirement. Get a burns service involved early.
What is the Parkland Formula Calculator?
The Parkland formula gives a 24-hour crystalloid volume of 4 mL × body weight in kilograms × percentage of total body surface area burned. Half is given in the first eight hours from the time of injury and the remaining half over the following sixteen.
- Wallace rule-of-nines picker with adult and paediatric columns and part-region percentages
- Editable fluid factor, with the modified Brooke alternative shown alongside
- First-eight-hour and next-sixteen-hour volumes and mL/hr rates
- Elapsed-time catch-up rate calculated from the moment of injury, not arrival
- Holliday-Segar 4-2-1 paediatric maintenance added for children
- Works entirely offline in the browser — nothing is uploaded
How to use the Parkland Formula Calculator
- 1
Enter the patient's weight in kilograms or pounds and choose the adult or paediatric rule-of-nines column.
- 2
Set the percentage of each body region that is burned in the picker, or switch to entering %TBSA directly.
- 3
Adjust the mL per kg per %TBSA factor if your unit starts at 2 or 3 mL rather than Parkland's 4.
- 4
Enter the time of injury and the current time in 24-hour HH:MM form, or press the button to use the current clock.
- 5
Read the 24-hour total, the two phase rates, the phase end times and the catch-up rate for where you are now.
About the Parkland Formula Calculator
The ByteTools Parkland Formula Calculator turns a body weight and a burn size into an hourly fluid plan. It includes a Wallace rule-of-nines picker with separate adult and paediatric columns, so you can set what fraction of each body region is burned instead of guessing a single total, and it shows the modified Brooke 2 mL/kg/%TBSA alternative alongside.
Because Parkland runs from the moment of the burn and not from arrival in hospital, the tool takes an injury time and a current time and works out how much of the plan should already have been delivered, how much is still owed inside the current phase, and the catch-up rate needed to finish that phase on schedule. For a child it also adds the Holliday-Segar 4-2-1 maintenance requirement, which sits on top of the resuscitation volume.
Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing you enter is uploaded or stored. These are estimates only, not medical advice — the formula gives a starting rate, not a prescription, and every modern guideline titrates the actual rate against urine output and haemodynamics under burns-unit protocol. Superficial erythema is never counted in the burn area.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Parkland formula?
Total crystalloid in the first 24 hours equals 4 mL multiplied by body weight in kilograms multiplied by the percentage of total body surface area burned. Half of that volume is given in the first eight hours from injury and the other half across the next sixteen hours.
Does the Parkland clock start at injury or at admission?
At injury. If a patient arrives three hours after the burn, the first eight hours' volume must still be completed by the eight-hour mark, so the running rate has to be higher than the nominal figure. That catch-up rate is exactly what this calculator works out for you.
How do you calculate %TBSA with the rule of nines?
In an adult the head and neck are 9%, each arm 9%, the front of the trunk 18%, the back 18%, each leg 18% and the perineum 1%. In children the head takes 18% and each leg drops to 13.5%. Superficial erythema is not counted, and the patient's palm with fingers is roughly 1%.
Why do many burn units now use less than 4 mL/kg/%TBSA?
Because formula-driven volumes are strongly associated with over-resuscitation — so-called fluid creep — and its complications, including compartment syndrome and pulmonary oedema. Many modern units start at 2 or 3 mL and titrate upward against urine output, which is why the factor here is an editable field.
What urine output should burn resuscitation aim for?
The usual targets are around 0.5 mL/kg/hr in adults and about 1 mL/kg/hr in children, adjusted for the individual. The formula only sets the starting rate; urine output and the patient's haemodynamics decide what happens next.
What is the modified Brooke formula?
It is the same structure with a smaller factor: 2 mL per kilogram per %TBSA over 24 hours, again split half in the first eight hours. It is shown here beside the Parkland number so you can see the range that different protocols would start from.
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