This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

The Changing Epidemiology of Water Balance and Convulsions in Infant Diarrhea

LAURENCE FINBERG, MD

Am J Dis Child. 1986;140(6):524.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

From about 1945 through the 1960s, a hypernatremic disturbance characterized about 20% to 25% of infants admitted to the US hospitals because of dehydration secondary to diarrheal disease.^1,2 In the 1980s, this proportion is down to 5% to 8% even though admissions for diarrheal disease are fewer and despite the fact that most infants with hypernatremia tend to be admitted because they are usually seriously ill (L.F. and H. Mendez, MD, unpublished data, February 1986).

The probable explanation for this shift lies in the change in feeding practices in this time period. Evaporated milk mixtures are now uncommon, infant formulas have less salt, and breast-feeding has had a resurgence.³ The advice of pediatrician to mother has also reduced the emphasis on sodium replacement. These facts improved the long-term outlook for infants with dehydration since hypernatremia has a distinct mortality and morbidity.^2,4

The change probably does not alter . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Department of Pediatrics State University of New York at Brooklyn 450 Clarkson Ave Brooklyn, NY 11203

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?