Abstract
Oral rehydration with salt and sugar solution for diarrhea seems to have been widely used in China for more than 20 years. Surveys in five rural counties in widely distributed provinces have revealed that over 90 per cent of barefoot doctors and county doctors have been using a simple salt and sugar solution. Thirty-four per cent of mothers also said they used the oral solution. By contrast, most urban hospitals, especially teaching hospitals, continued to rely on intravenous (I-V) fluids. It had been previously observed that China has had high morbidity but low mortality from diarrheal diseases. Part of the explanation undoubtedly is the relatively good nutritional status of children and the widespread use of liquid traditional medicines. The finding that barefoot doctors have been using oral rehydration also may help explain the low mortality.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Chen L. C., Rahman M., Sarder A. M. Epidemiology and causes of death among children in a rural area of Bangladesh. Int J Epidemiol. 1980 Mar;9(1):25–33. doi: 10.1093/ije/9.1.25. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kielmann A. A., McCord C. Home treatment of childhood diarrhea in Punjab villages. J Trop Pediatr Environ Child Health. 1977 Aug;23(4):197–201. doi: 10.1093/tropej/23.4.197. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Yankauer A. Oral rehydration and social change: the control of diarrheal diseases in the Third World. Am J Public Health. 1982 Oct;72(10):1105–1106. doi: 10.2105/ajph.72.10.1105. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]