Oral rehydration therapies in Senegal, Mali, and Sierra Leone: a spatial analysis of changes over time and implications for policy

BACKGROUND

Oral rehydration solution (ORS) is a simple intervention that can prevent childhood deaths from severe diarrhea and dehydration. In a previous study, we mapped the use of ORS treatment subnationally and found that ORS coverage increased over time, while the use of home-made alternatives or recommended home fluids (RHF) decreased, in many countries. These patterns were particularly striking within Senegal, Mali, and Sierra Leone. It was unclear, however, whether ORS replaced RHF in these locations or if children were left untreated, and if these patterns were associated with health policy changes.

METHODS

We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from household surveys to map the percentage of children with diarrhea that received (1) any ORS, (2) only RHF, or (3) no oral rehydration treatment between 2000 and 2018. This approach allowed examination of whether RHF was replaced with ORS before and after interventions, policies, and external events that may have impacted healthcare access.

RESULTS

We found that RHF was replaced with ORS in most Sierra Leone districts, except those most impacted by the Ebola outbreak. In addition, RHF was replaced in northern but not in southern Mali, and RHF was not replaced anywhere in Senegal. In Senegal, there was no statistical evidence that a national policy promoting ORS use was associated with increases in coverage. In Sierra Leone, ORS coverage increased following a national policy change that abolished health costs for children.

CONCLUSIONS

Children in parts of Mali and Senegal have been left behind during ORS scale-up. Improved messaging on effective diarrhea treatment and/or increased ORS access such as through reducing treatment costs may be needed to prevent child deaths in these areas.

R A Cowley, the "Golden Hour," the "Momentary Pause," and the "Third Space"

R Adams Cowley (1917-1991), the Baltimore thoracic and trauma surgeon, was an outstanding politician and promoter of emergency medical services. His skills included the effective use of language, for example, identifying the critical time immediately after injury as a "golden hour," and describing shock as a "momentary pause in the act of death." Conversely, Cowley avoided the tendency of some contemporaries to justify massive crystalloid infusion by invoking a "third space." Cowley is often assumed to have originated the first two phrases, but, in fact, their histories go back at least to the 19th century and illustrate the development of surgical science. The "third space" is often assumed to have originated with Cowley's contemporary, Tom Shires (1925-2007), but, in fact, neither of them used the phrase to describe Shires' controversial theories about an extracellular fluid deficit after trauma. Reviewing the actual etymology of these terms may help clarify the history of the underlying scientific ideas and enable more effective communication in the future.

Albumin for Prehospital Fluid Resuscitation of Hemorrhagic Shock in Tactical Combat Casualty Care

Optimal fluid resuscitation on the battlefield in the absence of blood products remains unclear. Contemporary Combat medics are generally limited to hydroxyethyl starch or crystalloid solutions, both of which present significant drawbacks. Obtaining US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved freeze-dried plasma (FDP) is a top casualty care research priority for the US Military. Interest in this agent reflects a desire to simultaneously expand intravascular volume and address coagulopathy. The history of FDP dates to the Second World War, when American expeditionary forces used this agent frequently. Also fielded was 25% albumin, an agent that lacks coagulation factors but offers impressive volume expansion with minimal weight to carry and requires no reconstitution in the field. The current potential value of 25% albumin is largely overlooked. Although FDP presents an attractive future option for battlefield prehospital fluid resuscitation once FDA approved, this article argues that in the interim, 25% albumin, augmented with fibrinogen concentrate and tranexamic acid to mitigate hemodilution effects on coagulation capacity, offers an effective volume resuscitation alternative that could save lives on the battlefield immediately.

The ebb and flow of fluid (as in resuscitation)

Since the early 1960's "resuscitation" following major trauma involved use of replacement crystalloid fluid/estimated blood loss in volumes of 3/1, in the ambulance, emergency room, operating room and surgical intensive care unit. During the past 20 years, MAJOR paradigm shifts have occurred in this concept. As a result hypotensive resuscitation with a view towards restriction of crystalloid, and prevention of complications has occurred. Improved results in both civilian and military environments have been reported. As a result there is new focus on trauma surgical involvement in all aspects of trauma patient management, focus on early aggressive surgical approaches (which may or may not involve an operation), and movement from crystalloid to blood, plasma, and platelet replacement therapy.

Dr Thomas Aitchison Latta (c1796-1833): pioneer of intravenous fluid replacement in the treatment of cholera

In 1832 pandemic cholera travelled across Europe with devastating mortality. Before this, doctors had speculated on the benefits of intravenous therapy but none had tried. Only in 1832 did Thomas Latta perform intravenous infusions. This treatment disappeared after Latta's death. This was mainly due to general medical scepticism, lack of biochemical and physiological knowledge and poor patient selection. Finally, there were no further pandemics comparable with that of 1832 to provide the catalyst to accelerate medical development in this field.

From a pump handle to oral rehydration therapy: a model of translational research

Few afflictions have attracted as much attention and impacted on as many societal and biomedical areas as cholera. Dr. John Snow's studies launched the field of epidemiology, were early applications of medical cartography, and promoted the use of statistical methods in medicine. The finding that cholera was due to the ingestion of contaminated water lent to the demise of the prevalent "miasmatic theory of contagion," set the platform for the "germ theory of disease," and promoted the growth of public health concerns for water purification and sanitation. More recent attention to this disease led to the notion of "secretory diarrhea" and the translation of basic principles to the development of oral rehydration therapy and its "spin-offs" (Gatorade and Pedilyte).

Manners and the administration of fluid into the rectum: BJN 100 years ago

Manners are all about how a person behaves with other people. They usually denote politeness or signify habits indicating good breeding. One would expect nurses to demonstrate good manners towards patients and often patients judge the health service they receive, based on the social interaction and manners of the staff. There is no special training course on hospital manners but good manners and behaviour are often expected to be present when someone enters the profession.

Review article: the history of acute infectious diarrhoea management--from poorly focused empiricism to fluid therapy and modern pharmacotherapy

BACKGROUND

Acute diarrhoea management has progressed from largely ineffective measures in the early years to a more effective physiologic approach in recent years.

AIM

To review the history of acute diarrhoea management.

METHODS

Citations in PubMed were reviewed on 'acute diarrhoea treatment' along with an extensive file maintained by the corresponding author.

RESULTS

Freedom from diarrhoea was equated in early military conflicts with bravery and strength where diarrhoea-free soldiers had the 'guts' to fight. Until early 20th century, colonic irrigants, purgatives and emetic drugs were used to help eliminate undesired intestinal contents. Only a few early authorities suggested the need for replacement of fluids and salt, now standard treatment. Drugs aimed at diarrhoea symptom control have been broadly used for more than 100 years. The evolving history of one of those drugs, kaopectate is unappreciated. Once understanding the pathophysiology and infectious aetiology of acute diarrhoea, new oral fluids, pharmacologic agents designed to block specific secretory alterations and anti-infective drugs have been identified.

CONCLUSIONS

Physiologic and antimicrobial approaches to controlling diarrhoea can lead to reduction of stool number and enteric complaints, important in industrialized areas, with the potential for decreasing threat of fatal illness among infants in developing regions.

"Belsenitis": liberating Belsen, its hospitals, UNRRA, and selection for re-emigration, 1945-1948

The liberation of the concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen has remained controversial with opinion divided over whether the British military and subsequently the British zonal administration responded adequately to the plight of survivors. This paper reconsiders the evidence on health conditions at Bergen-Belsen. At first the British underestimated the incidence of typhus and the delay in taking effective measures caused the death rate to remain high. In the longer-term, measures for psychotic, old, and infirm DPs were inadequate as criteria that favored the fit and able-bodied were applied when selecting migrants.

History of the development of oral rehydration fluids

The development of oral rehydration fluid for the treatment of cholera and other diarrhoeal diseases has been regarded as one of the most important medical advances of the last century. This article summarises information on how this achievement was made possible. The development is traced from the historical empiric use of oral fluids for treating diarrhoea, to physiologic studies in animals that defined how glucose and sodium were coupled in absorption by the small intestine and finally, to the use of this knowledge in developing the simple effective solutions that were adopted by WHO as the mainstay of diarrhoeal therapy worldwide.

Now and then, the history of parenteral fluid administration

The use of blood and intravenous fluid therapy is now considered routine therapy. The level of sophistication that we now perceive as standard has resulted from centuries of legends, religious beliefs, pseudo-science, non-scientific supposition, experimentation and error. The purpose of this article is to review the evolution of parenteral fluid and transfusion therapy through history. Data were collected via online search through the medical literature (ovid-medline), historical journals, medical history books as well as visits to historical medical libraries. We express our appreciation and gratitude to the hundreds of scientists whose work has allowed us to practice medicine, as we know it.

Gamble and Darrow: pathfinders in body fluid physiology and fluid therapy for children, 1914-1964

The development of body fluid physiology and fluid therapy in pediatrics has special importance in the history of medicine because this development introduced physiology into clinical practice. James Gamble and Dan Darrow were leaders in this enterprise. Gamble was part of the group John Howland attracted to Johns Hopkins to establish the first organized program for clinical investigators in pediatrics. This group initiated fluid therapy as effective treatment for diarrheal dehydration and, led by Gamble, developed the discipline of body fluid physiology. Gamble was the first to describe the nature of extracellular fluid (ECF) to clinicians, using the new terminology for characterizing electrolytes in solution. In doing so, he became the teacher of body fluid physiology to a generation of medical students. Inexplicably, in his later years he failed to adopt yet newer terminology defining cations, anions, and acid-base status. This failure compromised his legacy. Dan Darrow extended our understanding of how body fluids react to hyper- and hyponatremia and to potassium deficiency. He was the first to add potassium to parenteral fluid therapy. In doing so, he broadened clinicians' understanding of body fluids but changed the emphasis of fluid therapy from rapid ECF restoration to replacement of estimated deficits. Unfortunately, this change in concept, taught by his successors as deficit therapy, slowed the adoption of oral rehydration therapy for treating diarrheal dehydration. The lapses noted for each of these men, now seen in hindsight, pale in comparison to their contributions. Pediatrics, medicine, and surgery are all indebted to the research of each, which emphasized the value of basic physiology in clinical practice.

[My history of pediatrics]

In an attempt to discern the paradigms underlying our medical practice (more specifically paediatrics) over the last 30 years, it was found that these are rather similar to the ones prevailing at the beginning of this period--all wrong-doings were attributed to outside forces which had to be neutralized; the obsession to standardise the internal milieu; the compulsion to always do something, little attention being paid to collateral effects; the ends justifying the means and the charm of technology.

Discovery of the intraosseous route for fluid administration

One of the many problems in the resuscitation of the shocked patient is how to gain access to the circulation to provide fluids or drugs. Since the 1830s fluids have been administered intravenously. Intravenous access is not always possible in the very shocked patient. An alternative, used in the first world war, was the rectal route. This has rarely been used on a large scale since. Just before the outbreak of the second world war a chance discovery resulted in the development of intraosseous infusions of fluid and drugs. From its discovery it was used in adults and children. For many years it seemed to be ignored in adult resuscitation, but there are now signs of renewed interest in the technique. This brief review traces the discovery of the intraosseous route to put the current developments into a historical context.

Resuscitation in the new millennium

This article discusses resuscitation from a historical perspective; physiology; the optimal timing and volume for and fluids and endpoints of resuscitation; and the role of resuscitation in the future. Whether different types of victims of trauma should be resuscitated using different endpoints also is discussed.

The early history of the treatment for dehydration

The difficulties of managing dehydration in infants, along with the special problems of infant feeding in the wake of the industrial revolution, led to the specialty of pediatrics. The scientific and clinical beginnings that preceded the specialty are reviewed; much that came later can be credited to pediatric scientists.

The evolution of therapy for dehydration: should deficit therapy still be taught?

OBJECTIVE

To describe the evolution of rehydration therapy for cholera and diarrheal dehydration from its beginning in 1832 to the present. To reaffirm the central role for extracellular fluid (ECF) expansion and question the continued teaching of deficit therapy in many current pediatric texts.

METHODOLOGY

I reviewed the rationale underlying three treatment strategies: rapid parenteral infusions of saline solutions to restore ECF; deficit therapy to replace specific electrolyte and water losses; and oral rehydration therapy (ORT) to effect both. I used crude mortality rates as the measure of outcomes.

RESULTS

(1) Beginning in 1832 for cholera and 1918 for infant diarrheal dehydration, parenteral saline infusions were infused to replace losses of salt and water; they were very effective in salvaging moribund dehydrated patients by quickly restoring ECF volume and renal perfusion. Mortality rates dropped from more than 60% to less than 30%. (2) Deficit therapy as it evolved in the 1950s defined potassium and other fluid and electrolyte deficits and replaced them using specific but complicated fluid and electrolyte replacement regimens. Mortality rates dropped to single digits. (3) ORT, with intravenous expansion of ECF volume when indicated, rapidly corrected specific fluid and electrolyte disorders with a very simple therapeutic regimen. Mortality rates dropped to less than 1%.

CONCLUSIONS

The simpler, more effective ORT regimen should be taught as standard therapy for diarrheal dehydration. Principles of body fluid physiology should be taught in their own right.

The history of intravenous therapy

Modern IV therapy is less than a century old. Yet, it was known that medications could be injected into a vein as early as the 1600s. Because of a lack of scientific methods, original attempts to deliver IV fluids and drugs met with little success. Two world wars brought in the era of modern IV therapy. However, the greatest advance in drugs, equipment, and procedures has occurred in the past 25 years.