An improvement of body surface area formulas using the 3D scanning technique.

OBJECTIVES: Body surface area (BSA) is one of the major parameters used in several medical fields. However, there are concerns raised about its usefulness, mostly due to the ambiguity of its estimation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Authors have conducted a voluntary study to investigate BSA distribution and estimation in a group of 179 adult people of various sex, age, and physique. Here, there is provided an extended analysis of the majority of known BSA formulas. Furthermore, it was supplement with a comparison with the authors' propositions of enhanced formulas coefficients for known formulas models as well as with new power models based on an increased number of anthropometric data. RESULTS: Introduction of the enhanced formulas coefficients cause a reduction of at least 30.5% in mean absolute error and 21.1% in maximum error in comparison with their known counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: In the context of the analysis presented it can be stated that the development of a single universal body surface area formula, based on a small number of state variables, is not possible. Therefore, it is necessary and justified to search for new estimation models that allow for quick and accurate calculation of body surface area for the entire population, regardless of individual body variations. The new formulas presented are such an alternative, which achieves better results than the previously known methods. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2024;37(2):205-19.

Body surface area formulae: an alarming ambiguity.

Body surface area (BSA) plays a key role in several medical fields, including cancer chemotherapy, transplantology, burn treatment and toxicology. BSA is often a major factor in the determination of the course of treatment and drug dosage. A series of formulae to simplify the process have been developed. Because easy-to-identify, yet general, body coefficient results of those formulae vary considerably, the question arises as to whether the choice of a particular formula is valid and safe for patients. Here we show that discrepancies between most of the known BSA formulae can reach 0.5 m(2) for the standard adult physique. Although many previous studies have demonstrated that certain BSA formulae provide an almost exact fit with the patients examined, all of these studies have been performed on a limited and isolated group of people. Our analysis presents a broader perspective, considering 25 BSA formulae. The analysis revealed that the choice of a particular formula is a difficult task. Differences among calculations made by the formulae are so great that, in certain cases, they may considerably affect patients' mortality, especially for people with an abnormal physique or for children.

The influence of electromagnetic pollution on living organisms: historical trends and forecasting changes.

Current technologies have become a source of omnipresent electromagnetic pollution from generated electromagnetic fields and resulting electromagnetic radiation. In many cases this pollution is much stronger than any natural sources of electromagnetic fields or radiation. The harm caused by this pollution is still open to question since there is no clear and definitive evidence of its negative influence on humans. This is despite the fact that extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields were classified as potentially carcinogenic. For these reasons, in recent decades a significant growth can be observed in scientific research in order to understand the influence of electromagnetic radiation on living organisms. However, for this type of research the appropriate selection of relevant model organisms is of great importance. It should be noted here that the great majority of scientific research papers published in this field concerned various tests performed on mammals, practically neglecting lower organisms. In that context the objective of this paper is to systematise our knowledge in this area, in which the influence of electromagnetic radiation on lower organisms was investigated, including bacteria, E. coli and B. subtilis, nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, land snail, Helix pomatia, common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and clawed frog, Xenopus laevis.

Influence of electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields on the circadian system: current stage of knowledge.

One of the side effects of each electrical device work is the electromagnetic field generated near its workplace. All organisms, including humans, are exposed daily to the influence of different types of this field, characterized by various physical parameters. Therefore, it is important to accurately determine the effects of an electromagnetic field on the physiological and pathological processes occurring in cells, tissues, and organs. Numerous epidemiological and experimental data suggest that the extremely low frequency magnetic field generated by electrical transmission lines and electrically powered devices and the high frequencies electromagnetic radiation emitted by electronic devices have a potentially negative impact on the circadian system. On the other hand, several studies have found no influence of these fields on chronobiological parameters. According to the current state of knowledge, some previously proposed hypotheses, including one concerning the key role of melatonin secretion disruption in pathogenesis of electromagnetic field induced diseases, need to be revised. This paper reviews the data on the effect of electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields on melatonin and cortisol rhythms-two major markers of the circadian system as well as on sleep. It also provides the basic information about the nature, classification, parameters, and sources of these fields.