A 37-year-old Caucasian male died of dehydration and heat exposure following a sweat lodge ceremony in outback Australia. The case demonstrates difficulties that may arise in the determination of the cause of death at autopsy due to nonspecific pathologic findings in hyperthermic deaths. There are also a number of features that characterize this particular "sweat [...]

PURPOSE: The cost of unnecessary hospitalizations associated with dehydration in elderly patients was studied. METHODS: The study involved a retrospective examination of 1999 data on hospital discharges from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample. The procedure code for volume depletion was used to extract hospitalization episodes for patients > or = 65 [...]

INTRODUCTION: Long-term care (LTC) residents, especially the orally fed with dysphagia, are prone to dehydration. The clinical consequences of dehydration are critical. The validity of the common laboratory parameters of hydration status is far from being absolute, especially so in the elderly. However, combinations of these indices are more reliable. OBJECTIVE: Assessment of hydration status [...]

Maintaining adequate fluid balance is an essential component of health at every stage of life. Age-related changes make older adults more vulnerable to shifts in water balance that can result in overhydration or, more frequently, dehydration. This article reviews age-related changes, risk factors, assessment measures, and nursing interventions for dehydration.

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