Summary
The surface area of 237 young adult male South Africans has been measured using a cheap, simple and rapid photometric technique, and also calculated using the Du Bois height-weight prediction formula. Correlation between the two methods was high (r=0.97) but the predicted area was systematically lower than the measured area. Regression analysis yielded:
measured area (m2)=0.208+0.945 Du Bois area (m2)
for predicted areas between 1.3 and 2.1 m2.
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References
Du Bois, D., Du Bois, E. F.: A formula to estimate the approximate surface area if height and weight be known. Arch. intern. Med.17, 863–871 (1916).
Halliday, E. C., Hugo, T. J.: The photodermoplanimeter. J. appl. Physiol.18, 1285–1289 (1963).
Van Graan, C. H.: The determination of body surface area. S. Afr. med. J.43, 952–959 (1969).
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Mitchell, D., Strydom, N.B., van Graan, C.H. et al. Human surface area: Comparison of the du bois formula with direct photometric measurement. Pflugers Arch. 325, 188–190 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00587008
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00587008