Abstract
Determination of electrolytes in the stools of 58 children with cholera from the Philippines revealed losses which are substantially different from those found in adults with cholera. Fæcal losses of sodium, chloride, and bicarbonate are lower, and fæcal losses of potassium are higher than in adults. Intravenous solutions for replacement therapy are commonly devised on the basis of the adult losses, and their use in pædiatric cholera provides more sodium and chloride than is lost in the child's stool. Furthermore, such regimens rely too heavily on the oral route for administration of " free " water. Most of the morbidity and mortality seen in pædiatric cholera may be due to over-replacement of sodium losses and failure to provide " free " water intravenously.
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