The Parkland formula in patients with burns and inhalation injury

Clinical concern over the fluid status of patients with burns and inhalation injury led us to review the course of 101 consecutive adult patients with large (20%-60% BSA) burns, all resuscitated with the Parkland formula. The results indicate that this regimen may have resulted in unnecessarily large fluid loads in patients with inhalation injury. In order to avoid the highly significant excess amount of fluid over the calculated estimate, patients with burns and inhalation injury should be resuscitated with substantially less than formula predictions, with acceptance of urine output in the range of 0.3-0.5 ml/kg/hr.