Caloric Requirements in Burned Children

The present study evaluated the efficacy of a surface area formula in estimating the daily caloric requirements of 52 severely burned children who were consecutively admitted to the Shriners Burns Institute in Galveston and who survived their injuries. Their ages ranged from 2 weeks to 15 years (X 6.3 years); their burns ranged from 20% to 82% (X 39%); and their hospital stay ranged from 20 to 120 days (X 55 days). Caloric requirements were calculated according to a standard formula (1,800 Kcalper square meter of body surface per day plus 2,200 Kcal per square meter of body surface area burned per day). Most of the calories were suplied in the form of homogenized milk plus a regular house diet.Using the weight on the 14th day postburn as baseline (dry weight), the patients were divided into two groups. Patients in group 1 (40 patients) received calories as recommended by the formula, gained weight, and appeared well nourished. Patients in group 2 (12 patients) failed to receive the number of calories recommended by the formula and lost weight. On the basis of this study, we propose that the formula is accurate and can be used routinely to estimate the minimum caloric requirements of burned children.