Oral fluid therapy: sodium and potassium content and osmolality of some commercial "clear" soups, juices and beverages.

Analysis of nearly 90 commercial "clear" fluids, including soups, juices, fruit-flavoured drinks and ices, carbonated beverages and gelatins, showed a range of 0.1 to 251 mmol of sodium and 0.0 to 65 mmol of potassium per litre; the osmolality ranged from 246 to more than 2000 mOsm/kg of water. Knowledge of these values is useful in the home or hospital management of patients for whom control of fluid and electrolyte intake is indicated. The results of the analyses are presented in tabular form for use by physicians and nutritionists when counselling patients to ingest clear-type fluids for various illnesses. Examples are given using these data to show how clear-fluid therapy can be tailored in one such illness--gastroenteritis (infectious diarrhea).