Hypernatraemic dehydration. A prospective study in children with diarrhoeal disease.

Hypernatraemia occurs in a significant number of infants with dehydrating diarrhoea. There are some diagnostic clinical features, but these are not specific, and without routine electrolyte estimations many with hypernatraemia would go undetected. The standard fluid therapy schedule used at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital gave satisfactory results in both hypernatraemic and non-hypernatraemic patients. It is suitable for use in situations when electrolyte estimations on all patients are not possible.