Oral Rehydration Therapy
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Introduction
Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) was first introduced in 1979 and rapidly became a key tool in the control of death from diarrheal illnesses.
Reduced osmolarity formulation is associated with less diarrhea, vomiting, and need for IV hydration in children with diarrhea, compared to standard osmolarity solution (Hahn, Kim, and Garner, 2001).
molecule |
grams/litre |
ion |
mmol/litre |
sodium chloride |
2.6 |
sodium |
75 |
glucose |
13.5 |
chloride |
65 |
potassium chloride |
1.5 |
glucose |
75 |
trisodium citrate, dihydrate |
2.9 |
potassium |
20 |
|
|
citrate |
10 |
|
|
total osmolarity |
245 |
Resources and References
Hahn S, Kim Y, Garner P. 2001. Reduced osmolarity oral rehydration solution for treating dehydration due to diarrhoea in children: systematic review. BMJ. 323(7304):81-5.
Victora CG et al. 2000. Reducing deaths from diarrhoea through oral rehydration therapy. Bull World Health Organ. 78(10):1246-55.
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