Oral Electrolyte Solutions for Infantile Diarrhea

To the Editor: In a letter in the May 14 issue,¹ Dr. Walker states that fluids prescribed for ingestion during typical episodes of diarrhea in the United States should contain less than 17 mmol of sodium per liter, and that oral rehydration solutions containing 80 to 90 mmol of sodium per liter, similar to the solution recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), should only be administered under direct supervision (implying a hospital setting). We disagree with both these statements. We also disagree with the implication that solutions containing 80 to 90 mmol of sodium per liter have been used.