Fluid therapy for alimentary disease: origins and objectives.

Fluid therapy took nearly a century to gain acceptance in human medicine, despite excellent early work demonstrating its rationale and its effectiveness. Progress in veterinary fluid therapy lagged behind, partly because of skepticism and partly because of real practical difficulties. From the earliest to the most recent developments, human cholera has provided the impetus for much of the progress in fluid therapy. The challenge of treating such a severe diarrhoea in primitive surroundings with severe limits on cost and supervision has led to the emergence of oral fluid therapy as the prime technique. It is not simply an alternative to parenteral treatment but, in most cases, a superior approach relating more directly to the underlying problem--electrolyte malabsorption. Similar principles can be applied to other forms of diarrhoea and in various species. The example is clear for those concerned with veterinary fluid therapy. Repair of extracellular fluid volume is the key objective in all forms of fluid therapy; oral hydration offers not only a practicable way of achieving this in farm animals but one with the potential for outstanding clinical and economic success.