Abstract
The early identification of children at high risk of dehydration as a consequence of diarrhoea would be of great value for health care workers in developing countries. By comparing children aged less than two years with diarrhoea and moderate to severe dehydration with matched controls who had uncomplicated diarrhoea, a number of prognostic factors were assessed. Low body weight, regardless of age, was strongly associated with the risk of dehydration; using 7.0 kg as a cut-off, it had a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 68%. Low body weight was superior to more complex anthropométrie indices, including weight for age, weight for length or length for age, and also to early signs and symptoms during the episode. By reflecting the effects of both young age and those of malnutrition, low body weight may prove to be a simple indicator for predicting dehydration among children with diarrhoea presenting at a health service.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 7-11 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Journal of Diarrhoeal Diseases Research |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| State | Published - 1997 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Case-control study
- Dehydration
- Diarrhoea
- Protein-energy malnutrition
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Gastroenterology
Cite this
Low body weight : A simple indicator of the risk of dehydration among children with diarrhoea. / Victora, Cesar G.; Fuchs, Sandra C.; Kirkwood, Betty R.; Lombardi, Cintia; Barros, Fernando C.
In: Journal of Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Vol. 15, No. 1, 1997, p. 7-11.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Low body weight
T2 - A simple indicator of the risk of dehydration among children with diarrhoea
AU - Victora, Cesar G.
AU - Fuchs, Sandra C.
AU - Kirkwood, Betty R.
AU - Lombardi, Cintia
AU - Barros, Fernando C.
PY - 1997
Y1 - 1997
N2 - The early identification of children at high risk of dehydration as a consequence of diarrhoea would be of great value for health care workers in developing countries. By comparing children aged less than two years with diarrhoea and moderate to severe dehydration with matched controls who had uncomplicated diarrhoea, a number of prognostic factors were assessed. Low body weight, regardless of age, was strongly associated with the risk of dehydration; using 7.0 kg as a cut-off, it had a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 68%. Low body weight was superior to more complex anthropométrie indices, including weight for age, weight for length or length for age, and also to early signs and symptoms during the episode. By reflecting the effects of both young age and those of malnutrition, low body weight may prove to be a simple indicator for predicting dehydration among children with diarrhoea presenting at a health service.
AB - The early identification of children at high risk of dehydration as a consequence of diarrhoea would be of great value for health care workers in developing countries. By comparing children aged less than two years with diarrhoea and moderate to severe dehydration with matched controls who had uncomplicated diarrhoea, a number of prognostic factors were assessed. Low body weight, regardless of age, was strongly associated with the risk of dehydration; using 7.0 kg as a cut-off, it had a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 68%. Low body weight was superior to more complex anthropométrie indices, including weight for age, weight for length or length for age, and also to early signs and symptoms during the episode. By reflecting the effects of both young age and those of malnutrition, low body weight may prove to be a simple indicator for predicting dehydration among children with diarrhoea presenting at a health service.
KW - Case-control study
KW - Dehydration
KW - Diarrhoea
KW - Protein-energy malnutrition
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0031087821&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0031087821&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 9308294
AN - SCOPUS:0031087821
VL - 15
SP - 7
EP - 11
JO - Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition
JF - Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition
SN - 1606-0997
IS - 1
ER -