Intraperitoneal fluid therapy in cholera and non-cholera diarrhoea: with special emphasis on the treatment of infants and children.

Because of the relative difficulty in maintaining continuous intravenous infusions in small children suffering from cholera, a simpler method of maintenance fluid therapy would be useful. With this in mind, the role of intraperitoneal fluid administration was evaluated in 8 adults and 26 children (aged 6 years or less) having moderate to severe cholera or cholera-like diarrhoeal disease.In adults intraperitoneal fluid was found to be of no significant value in maintenance therapy because peritoneal absorption was not sufficiently rapid to replace expected stool losses. In children, however, this form of therapy was considerably more successful. In 16 of 19 children with cholera and in all 7 with non-cholera diarrhoea, intraperitoneally administered fluid was absorbed rapidly enough to replace a major part of the initial fluid deficit on admission and all subsequent stool losses. No complications of intraperitoneal puncture were encountered.