Oral rehydration therapy of severe diarrheal dehydration

The effect of oral rehydration solution and recommended home fluids on diarrhoea mortality

Background Most diarrhoeal deaths can be prevented through the prevention and treatment of dehydration. Oral rehydration solution (ORS) and recommended home fluids (RHFs) have been recommended since 1970s and 1980s to prevent and treat diarrhoeal dehydration. We sought to estimate the effects of these interventions on diarrhoea mortality in children aged <5 years.

Methods We conducted a systematic review to identify studies evaluating the efficacy and effectiveness of ORS and RHFs and abstracted study characteristics and outcome measures into standardized tables. We categorized the evidence by intervention and outcome, conducted meta-analyses for all outcomes with two or more data points and graded the quality of the evidence supporting each outcome. The CHERG Rules for Evidence Review were used to estimate the effectiveness of ORS and RHFs against diarrhoea mortality.

Results We identified 205 papers for abstraction, of which 157 were included in the meta-analyses of ORS outcomes and 12 were included in the meta-analyses of RHF outcomes. We estimated that ORS may prevent 93% of diarrhoea deaths.

Conclusions ORS is effective against diarrhoea mortality in home, community and facility settings; however, there is insufficient evidence to estimate the effectiveness of RHFs against diarrhoea mortality.

Clinical presentation and management of acute gastro-enteritis in in-patient children at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

In a retrospective survey, case notes of all children with acute gastro-enteritis (AGE) admitted to our hospital between 1984 and 1988 were reviewed. The total number of cases was 300. The mean age was 14 months (range 1-60 mths): 67% of cases were boys and 33% girls. Eleven per cent were exclusively breastfed. The clinical presentation was diarrhoea and vomiting in 81%, diarrhoea alone in 15%, and vomiting primarily in 4%. All children had good nutritional status, i.e. both their height and weight were between the 5th and 90th percentile for their age and none showed signs of marasmus or kwashiorkor. Forty-six per cent of the children had AGE without dehydration. Mild, moderate and severe dehydration was present in 41%, 10% and 3% of cases, respectively. Isotonic, hypotonic and hypernatraemic dehydration was present in 95%, 3% and 2% of cases of dehydration, respectively. Sixty-five per cent of cases were given intravenous (IV) fluids. The mean duration of IV administration was 1 day, with a range of 1-7 days. Twenty-two per cent of the children were given oral rehydration solution (ORS) initially, and 13% were given IV plus ORS. None of the children died of gastro-enteritis. It is concluded that there was excessive use of IV fluids, and that there is an urgent need to encourage the use of ORS.

Oral versus intravenous rehydration therapy in severe gastroenteritis

A controlled, randomised trial comparing the results of oral rehydration therapy with those of intravenous fluid treatment in 470 children with severe gastroenteritis was undertaken. The oral rehydration therapy was divided into two phases--a rehydration phase that used high sodium isotonic fluid at 40 ml/kg per hour and a maintenance phase using low sodium isotonic fluid (sodium 40, potassium 30, bicarbonate 25, chloride 45, and dextrose 130 mmol/l). The results indicate that oral rehydration treatment, used according to this protocol, is successful in treating severe diarrhoea and dehydration, and has considerable advantages over intravenous fluid therapy in reducing complications associated with the treatment of hypernatraemia, in promoting rapid correction of hypokalaemia and acidosis, in decreasing the duration of diarrhoea, and in promoting a greater weight gain at hospital discharge.