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Evaluation of five formulae for estimating body surface area of nigerian children
1Institute of Child Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Insights
Boyd and Mosteller formulae provide the most accurate body surface area (BSA) estimates for Nigerian children. These findings are crucial for reliable pediatric clinical practice and research in the region.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric endocrinology
- Biometrics
- Clinical pharmacology
Background:
- Standardizing physiological functions by body surface area (BSA) is essential in pediatric practice to minimize calculation variability.
- Accurate BSA estimation is critical for drug dosing, fluid management, and interpreting physiological parameters in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the accuracy and suitability of commonly used BSA estimation formulas in Nigerian children.
- To identify the most reliable BSA formula for this specific pediatric population.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 2745 healthy Nigerian children.
- BSA was calculated using five established formulas: Boyd, Mosteller, Gehan and George, Haycock, and Dubois-DuBois.
- Agreement between each formula's estimate and the mean BSA was assessed using bias, root mean square error, and Bland-Altman plots.
Main Results:
- Boyd's and Mosteller's formulas demonstrated the highest agreement with the mean BSA, showing mathematically perfect correlations.
- The Dubois-DuBois formula exhibited the largest deviation, particularly in children younger than six years.
- Reference values for BSA estimates by gender and age group were proposed.
Conclusions:
- The Boyd and Mosteller formulas are recommended as the most suitable for estimating body surface area in Nigerian children.
- These findings will aid in more accurate clinical assessments and treatment calculations for pediatric patients in Nigeria.
Background:
Physiological functions are often assessed by standardizing for body surface area (BSA) to avoid excessive variation in calculations in pediatric practice.
Aim:
To explore the suitability of existing formulae for estimating the BSA of Nigerian children.
Subjects And Methods:
This cross-sectional study involved healthy children in a Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria. The BSAs of 2745 children were calculated using the formulae by Boyd, Mosteller, Gehan and George, Haycock, and Dubois-DuBois, and the sixth arithmetic mean of these five formulae (mean-BSA) was performed. The outcome of interest was agreement between estimated BSA and mean-BSA for each method. The performance of each BSA estimation method was compared using bias, root mean square error and Bland-Altman plots of agreement.
Results:
The study participants comprised of 1229 males and 1246 females with mean (standard deviation) ages of 6.3 (3.0) years and 6.6 (3.1) years respectively (P = 0.01). Reference values for BSA estimates by gender were proposed each age group. Furthermore, BSA estimates from Boyd's and Mosteller's formulae were most similar to the mean-BSA with mathematically perfect correlations. The degree of deviation of BSA estimates from DuBois was largest with a remarkable increase at ages <6 years.
Conclusion:
Formulae by Boyd and Mosteller are the best BSA estimate for Nigerian children among the existing formulae.
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