Oral rehydration therapy with particular reference to super ORS
Mahalanabis, D.
Journal of the Indian Medical Association 101(6): 371
2003
ISSN/ISBN: 0019-5847 PMID: 14579984 Document Number: 251209
An improved solution of glucose and 3 salts (ORS) is an elegant and deceptively simple treatment technology to prevent or treat dehydration from diarrhoea. There are many types of formulation tested earlier. The first generation improved ORS trials, the cereal-based ORS formulations, the rice-based ORS trials and the glucose-ORS with reduced osmolarity are summarized in this article to present the pros and cons of oral rehydration therapy (ORT). The use of ORS with reduced osmolarity in children with cholera and the addition of amylase-resistant starch in ORS are described. Since the adoption of ORT, global estimates of deaths due to diarrhoea in children below 5 years of age decreased dramatically from 4.6 million in 1980 to 1.8 million in 2000.