• Auxiliadora Damianne P Vieira da Costa and Gisélia Alves Pontes da Silva.
• Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil. doradami@gmail.com
• J Pediatr (Rio J). 2011 Mar 1;87(2):175-9.

ObjectiveTo describe the management of acute diarrhea in emergency departments with emphasis on the type of hydration and exploring factors associated with prescription of oral rehydration therapy vs. intravenous rehydration therapy for children with dehydration that is not severe.MethodsThis was a descriptive study conducted from January to May of 2008 observing case management of children with non-severe dehydration due to acute diarrhea at two emergency units (A and B) in Recife, Brazil. Emergency unit B is affiliated to a teaching hospital. The primary variables were: 1) type of hydration prescribed, 2) associations with the characteristics of the children and emergency department (A or B).ResultsA total of 166 children took part in the study. The rates of prescription of oral rehydration therapy were similar at both services (32.2 vs. 31.6% for A and B, respectively, p = 0.93) and were lower for cases with moderate dehydration (17.6%) compared with mild dehydration (35.6%) (p = 0.07). Neither service had a dedicated oral rehydration room.ConclusionsMost children were given intravenous rehydration therapy, especially those with moderate dehydration, without differences according type of service: whether a teaching institution or healthcare provider only.

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