Oral Rehydration Therapy: An Annotated Bibliography

This bibliography of annotated abstracts on oral rehydration therapy (ORT) was compiled to promote understanding of the large amount of information which has recently evolved concerning this method of treating diarrhea. Diarrheal diseases are 1 of the primary public health problems in developing countries are a leading cause of death in small children and constitute an important contributing factor to malnutrition. Acute diarrheal episodes are most frequently self-limited. Dehydration the major cause of diarrheal disease morbidity and mortality results from the loss of fluid and electrolytes in diarrheal stools. The long-term reduction in both incidence and severity of diarrhea will continue to be dependent upon comprehensive programs to improve nutritional status water supplies personal hygiene and environmental sanitation yet an immediate effect on mortality due to dehydration can be realized by treatment based on early administration of oral glucose electrolyte solution. The use of oral rehydration solutions to provide water and electrolytes for those suffering with diarrhea has long been advocated. Most of the current oral rehydration programs use a single solution containing the World Health Organization recommended composition to treat all age groups with all types of diarrhea. The annotated abstracts of oral rehydration articles presented in this bibliography are arranged under 5 categories -- history clinical trials composition impact and implementation.