OBJECTIVE: We previously created a clinical dehydration scale. Our objective was to validate the clinical dehydration scale with a new cohort of patients with acute gastroenteritis who were assessed in a tertiary emergency department in a developed country. METHODS: A prospective observational study was performed in an emergency department at a large pediatric tertiary center in Canada. Children 1 month to 5 years of age with symptoms of acute gastroenteritis who were assessed in the emergency department were enrolled consecutively during a 4-month period. The main outcome measures were length of stay, proportion of children receiving intravenous fluid rehydration, and proportions of children with abnormal serum pH values or bicarbonate levels. RESULTS: A total of 205 children were enrolled, with a mean age of 22.4 +/- 14.9 months; 103 (50%) were male. The distribution of severity categories was as follows: no dehydration (score of 0), n = 117 (57%); some dehydration (score of 1-4), n = 83 (41%); moderate/severe dehydration (score of 5-8), n = 5 (2%). The 3 dehydration categories were significantly different with respect to the validation hypotheses (length of stay, mean +/- SD: none, 245 +/- 181 minutes; some, 397 +/- 302 minutes; moderate/severe, 501 +/- 389 minutes; treatment with intravenous fluids: none, n =17, 15%; some, n = 41, 49%; moderate/severe, n = 4, 80%; number of vomiting episodes in the 7 days before the emergency department visit: none, 8.4 +/- 7.7 episodes; some, 13 +/- 10.7 episodes; moderate/severe, 30.2 +/- 14.8 episodes). CONCLUSION: The clinical dehydration scale and the 3 severity categories were valid for a prospectively enrolled cohort of patients who were assessed in our tertiary emergency department. The scoring system was valuable in predicting a longer length of stay and the need for intravenous fluid rehydration for children with symptoms of acute gastroenteritis.
OBJECTIVE: We previously created a clinical dehydration scale. Our objective was to validate the clinical dehydration scale with a new cohort of patients with acute gastroenteritis who were assessed in a tertiary emergency department in a developed country. METHODS: A prospective observational study was performed in an emergency department at a large pediatric tertiary center in Canada. Children 1 month to 5 years of age with symptoms of acute gastroenteritis who were assessed in the emergency department were enrolled consecutively during a 4-month period. The main outcome measures were length of stay, proportion of children receiving intravenous fluid rehydration, and proportions of children with abnormal serum pH values or bicarbonate levels. RESULTS: A total of 205 children were enrolled, with a mean age of 22.4 +/- 14.9 months; 103 (50%) were male. The distribution of severity categories was as follows: no dehydration (score of 0), n = 117 (57%); some dehydration (score of 1-4), n = 83 (41%); moderate/severe dehydration (score of 5-8), n = 5 (2%). The 3 dehydration categories were significantly different with respect to the validation hypotheses (length of stay, mean +/- SD: none, 245 +/- 181 minutes; some, 397 +/- 302 minutes; moderate/severe, 501 +/- 389 minutes; treatment with intravenous fluids: none, n =17, 15%; some, n = 41, 49%; moderate/severe, n = 4, 80%; number of vomiting episodes in the 7 days before the emergency department visit: none, 8.4 +/- 7.7 episodes; some, 13 +/- 10.7 episodes; moderate/severe, 30.2 +/- 14.8 episodes). CONCLUSION: The clinical dehydration scale and the 3 severity categories were valid for a prospectively enrolled cohort of patients who were assessed in our tertiary emergency department. The scoring system was valuable in predicting a longer length of stay and the need for intravenous fluid rehydration for children with symptoms of acute gastroenteritis.
Authors: Patrick C Bonasso; Melvin S Dassinger; Morten O Jensen; Samuel D Smith; Jeffrey M Burford; Kevin W Sexton Journal: J Clin Monit Comput Date: 2018-03-06 Impact factor: 2.502
Authors: David Schnadower; Phillip I Tarr; Marc H Gorelick; Karen O'Connell; Cindy G Roskind; Elizabeth C Powell; Jayashree Rao; Seema Bhatt; Stephen B Freedman Journal: J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr Date: 2013-10 Impact factor: 2.839
Authors: Otto G Vanderkooi; Jianling Xie; Bonita E Lee; Xiao-Li Pang; Linda Chui; Daniel C Payne; Judy MacDonald; Samina Ali; Shannon MacDonald; Steve Drews; Lara Osterreicher; Kelly Kim; Stephen B Freedman Journal: Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis Date: 2019-09-09 Impact factor: 3.267