Burns area estimation - an error perpetuated

In estimating small areas of burns, it is traditionally taught that the patient's palm is 1% of the body surface area. Whether the palm means the palmar surface of the whole hand or palm excluding the fingers, has not been very clear and is a source of confusion to many junior doctors. The ATLS teaching has been in contradiction to the evidence from literature and hence we undertook a study to examine the evidence and practices regarding this issue. It was done through a literature search, telephonic interviews and a review of Web-pages related to bums area estimation. The results highlighted the existing confusion on the topic and the need for educating junior doctors. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.