Parkland Burn Fluid Calculator

About this calculator

The Parkland formula estimates 24-hour fluid resuscitation as 4 mL × body weight (kg) × % total body surface area (TBSA) burned, using lactated Ringer's solution. Half of that total is given in the first 8 hours from the time of injury — not from arrival at hospital — and the remaining half over the next 16 hours.

Burn units, emergency physicians and paramedics use it as the starting point for resuscitating major burns, since under-resuscitation risks organ failure from shock while over-resuscitation causes its own complications like compartment syndrome — the formula gives a defensible first estimate that's then adjusted against the patient's urine output.