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Indications
- Prevention and treatment of dehydration from acute diarrhoea, cholera, etc.
Forms and strengths
- Sachet of powder to be diluted in 1 litre of clean water.
- WHO formulation:
Dosage
Prevention of dehydration (WHO - Treatment plan A)
- Child under 24 months: 50 to 100 ml after each loose stool (approximately 500 ml daily)
- Child from 2 to 10 years: 100 to 200 ml after each loose stool (approximately 1000 ml daily)
- Child over 10 years and adult: 200 to 400 ml after each loose stool (approximately 2000 ml daily)
Treatment of moderate dehydration (WHO - Treatment plan B)
Child and adult:
- Over the first four hours:
Age |
under |
4 to 11 |
12 to 23 |
2 to 4 |
5 to 14 |
15 years |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weight |
under 5 kg |
5 to 7.9 kg |
8 to 10.9 kg |
11 to 15.9 kg |
16 to 29.9 kg |
30 kg and over |
ORS in ml |
200 to 400 |
400 to 600 |
600 to 800 |
800 to 1200 |
1200 to 2200 |
2200 to 4000 |
- After four hours:
If there are no signs of dehydration: follow Treatment plan A.
If there are signs of moderate dehydration: repeat Treatment plan B.
If there are signs of severe dehydration: start IV therapy (Treatment plan C).
Treatment of severe dehydration (WHO - Treatment plan C)
In combination with IV therapy and only to a conscious patient:
Child and adult: 5 ml/kg per hour
After 3 hours (6 hours in infants), reassess and choose the appropriate plan A, B or C.
Duration
- As long as diarrhoea and signs of dehydration persist.
Contra-indications, adverse effects, precautions
- If the eyelids become puffy during the treatment: stop ORS, give plain water then, resume ORS according to Treatment plan A when the puffiness is gone.
- If case of vomiting, stop ORS for 10 min and then resume at a slower rate (very small, frequent, amounts); do not stop rehydration.
- Pregnancy: no contra-indication
- Breast-feeding: no contra-indication
Remarks
- A special ORS-formula, ReSoMal, is used under medical supervision, for severely malnourished children only. However, in malnourished children with cholera, standard ORS- formula is used instead of ReSoMal.
- Comes in flavoured and unflavoured ORS sachets.
Storage
Do not use the powder if it has turned into a yellow-brownish sticky substance.
Once prepared, the solution must be used within 24 hours.