n South African Journal of Child Health - The safety of rapid rehydration in dehydrating diarrhoea in a busy rehydration unit : letter

Abstract

To the Editor: Dehydration due to diarrhoeal disease is one of the major contributors to mortality in early childhood. In South Africa it contributes significantly to in-hospital mortality, often within the first 24 hours of admission. Rehydrating a dehydrated child over 4 - 6 hours (rapid rehydration (RR)) is widely recommended, as it has resulted in earlier discharge and is considered safe. Where oral rehydration cannot be used, nasogastric (NG) rehydration has been shown to be at least as effective as intravenous (IV) rehydration and is probably safer.