ABSTRACT
In the first 2 years following refresher training of paediatric staff in oral rehydration therapy (ORT) and the establishment of an oral rehydration unit at the Kamuzu Central Hospital; Lilongwe; Malawi; there was a 50 percent decrease in the number of children admitted to the paediatric ward with the diagnosis of diarrhoeal diseases; a 56 percent decrease in the use of intravenous fluid to rehydrate such children; a threefold increase in the use of oral rehydration salts (ORS) exclusively to rehydrate children with mild or moderate dehydration; and a 39 percent decrease in the number of paediatric deaths associated with diarrhoeal diseases. Over the same period; there was a 32 percent decrease in recurrent hospital costs attributable to paediatric diarrhoeal diseases. As use of ORT continues to increase in Malawi; where diarrhoeal diseases account for 9 percent of paediatric hospital admissions; there should be considerable decreases in mortality from such diseases and concomitant increases in cost savings attributable to them
Subject(s)
Diarrhea , Fluid TherapyABSTRACT
After the first two years after refresher training of pediatric staff in oral rehydration therapy [ORT] and the establishment of an oral rehydration unit at Kamuzu Central Hospital [KCH]; Lilongwe; there was a 50 percent decrease in the number of children admitted to the pediatric ward with the diagnosis of diarrheal disease; a 56 percent decrease in the use of intravenous fluid for rehydration of children hospitalized with diarrheal disease and a 70 percent increase in the use of oral rehydration salts [ORS] exclusively to rehydrate children with mild or moderate dehydration