Question:easy
In a 5-year-old child, the burn area corresponding to the size of the palm is equal to:
In a 5-year-old child, the burn area corresponding to the size of the palm is equal to:
Show Hint
The patient's own palm with fingers approximates a fixed fraction of BSA.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- 1%
- 5%
- 10%
- 20%
Show Solution
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
When clinicians need a quick bedside estimate of a burn that is patchy or limited, they fall back on the patient's hand. The surface of the patient's palm together with the closed fingers maps out about one percent of that person's entire body surface. This is the palmar (hand) rule.
The strength of this shortcut is that it scales with whoever you are examining. A toddler has a tiny palm but also a tiny body, and an adult has a large palm but a large body, so the ratio stays near one percent in both. Therefore, for the 5-year-old in the question, the palm still corresponds to roughly one percent of total body surface area.
Contrast this with the Rule of Nines, which does need age adjustment in children because their heads are relatively bigger and their legs relatively smaller. The palm rule needs no such correction. The remaining options of 5, 10 or 20 percent overestimate grossly.
\[\boxed{1\%}\]
The strength of this shortcut is that it scales with whoever you are examining. A toddler has a tiny palm but also a tiny body, and an adult has a large palm but a large body, so the ratio stays near one percent in both. Therefore, for the 5-year-old in the question, the palm still corresponds to roughly one percent of total body surface area.
Contrast this with the Rule of Nines, which does need age adjustment in children because their heads are relatively bigger and their legs relatively smaller. The palm rule needs no such correction. The remaining options of 5, 10 or 20 percent overestimate grossly.
\[\boxed{1\%}\]
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