Prescribing pattern by doctors for acute diarrhoea in children in Delhi, India.

Parents (mostly mothers) of 264 children aged less than 5 years with acute watery diarrhoea were interviewed about their treatment profile before hospitalization in Delhi, India in 1993. Only 22% of the cases were given prescriptions for oral rehydration solutions (ORS), whereas a very high proportion (64%) of them were given drugs, including antibiotics and antidiarrhoeals and 40% were given intravenous fluids. The differences among the treatment groups were highly significant. The government and private doctors were equally responsible for the low rate of prescription of ORS. The confidence of health professionals in ORS appears to be very low. The findings suggest the need of a high-profile continuing education programme to encourage ORS prescription in Delhi.