[Gastric emptying in children. V. Effect of the replacement of glucose by sucrose in a solution for oral rehydration].

A study was carried out on 18 children of both sexes aged 3 to 32 months (median 8 months) and weighing 3440 to 9520 grams (median 5120 grams). Each child was submitted to three consecutive gastric emptying tests at 24 hour intervals, using three solutions of different composition. The children were divided into two groups: Group I: twelve children submitted to the gastric emptying test 10 minutes after the administration of the test meal; Group II: six children submitted to the gastric emptying test 30 minutes after the administration of the test meal. The hydrating solutions used in the study consisted of the basic electrolyte composition recommended by the World Health Organization, and only differed in terms of the amount of sugar added. Solution A contained 20 grams of glucose per liter, solution B, 20 grams of sucrose per liter, and solution C, 40 grams of sucrose per liter. Gastric retention, expressed as a percentage of the volume of the test meal, was similar for solutions A and C and significantly higher than for solution B in Group I. In Group II, gastric retention of solution B also tended to be lower than for solutions A and C, although no statistically significant differences were observed between the three solutions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)