Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte abnormality in children and underlying causes are many. It is most often caused by excessive salt loss from the gut but is also associated with severe systemic disorders in which there is actual or apparent aldosterone deficiency, such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), which is the most common inherited [...]

BACKGROUND: Most diarrhoeal deaths can be prevented through the prevention and treatment of dehydration. Oral rehydration solution (ORS) and recommended home fluids (RHFs) have been recommended since 1970s and 1980s to prevent and treat diarrhoeal dehydration. We sought to estimate the effects of these interventions on diarrhoea mortality in children aged <5 years. METHODS: We [...]

OBJECTIVE: To compare the food consumption and nutrient intakes of German children and adolescents in the 1980s with present dietary habits. DESIGN: Two cross-sectional representative surveys, the German National Food Consumption Study (Nationale Verzehrsstudie, NVS) from 1985-8 and the nutrition module 'EsKiMo' of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS) [...]

Drinking water for approximately one sixth of US households is obtained from private wells. These wells can become contaminated by pollutant chemicals or pathogenic organisms and cause illness. Although the US Environmental Protection Agency and all states offer guidance for construction, maintenance, and testing of private wells, there is little regulation. With few exceptions, well [...]

The most useful individual signs for identifying dehydration in children are prolonged capillary refill time, abnormal skin turgor, and abnormal respiratory pattern. However, clinical dehydration scales based on a combination of physical examination findings are better predictors than individual signs. Oral rehydration therapy is the preferred treatment of mild to moderate dehydration caused by diarrhea [...]

OBJECTIVE: To determine adherence to oral rehydration solution (ORS) among in-patients aged 1-59 months suffering from gastroenteritis and having some dehydration (SD) or no dehydration (ND) in two rural hospitals in Kenya. METHODS: Children aged 1-59 months suffering from acute gastroenteritis with (SD) or (ND) were enrolled into the study, examined and medical records reviewed. [...]

Fluid homeostasis requires adequate water intake, regulated by an intact thirst mechanism and appropriate free water excretion by the kidneys, mediated by appropriate secretion of arginine vasopressin (AVP, also known as antidiuretic hormone). AVP exerts its antidiuretic action by binding to the X chromosome-encoded V2 vasopressin receptor (V2R), a G protein-coupled receptor on the basolateral [...]