Oral rehydration therapy for low birth weight neonates suffering from diarrhea in the intensive care unit.

A total of 62 low birth weight (LBW) neonates (29 boys and 33 girls) suffering from diarrhea in our neonatal intensive care unit were included in this period of intense observation. The mean age was 13.89 +/- 13.22 days and average body weight was 1,500.49 +/- 281.45 g. Severity of dehydration was assessed by the Fortin-Parent score. When the score was less than 8 (mild to moderate hypovolemia), oral rehydration therapy (ORT) was administered by feeding bottle or nasogastric tube hourly. Severely hypovolemic neonates needed intravenous rehydration; 52 neonates received ORT only using the World Health Organisation (WHO) formula; 58 neonates received either cow's milk-based or soy-based formula within 12 h after ORT began, and the rest within 24 h. Diarrhea lasted less than 1 day in 92% of cases. The regimen corrected hyponatremia and hypernatremia. Only two neonates developed mild asymptomatic hypernatremia. No child became edematous. Using the WHO solution, ORT was safely given to LBW neonates, sparing painful and potentially hazardous invasive techniques, and resulted in excellent outcomes.