Determining medication amounts based on body surface area, expressed as milligrams per square meter (mg/m2), is a common practice in several medical fields, particularly oncology and pediatrics. This method aims to personalize drug administration, accounting for variations in patient size and metabolic rate. For example, a chemotherapy regimen might specify a particular drug at a certain mg/m2 dosage, requiring a healthcare professional to first calculate the patient’s body surface area using a formula (e.g., the Mosteller formula) and then multiply that area by the prescribed dose.
Utilizing body surface area for dosage calculation helps to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment, minimizing the risk of underdosing in larger individuals and overdosing in smaller individuals. This approach acknowledges that physiological processes, including drug distribution and metabolism, often correlate more closely with surface area than with total body weight alone. Historically, the adoption of body surface area-based dosing represents a shift towards more individualized and precise medical interventions, building upon earlier methods focused solely on weight or age.
