ORS use in diarrhoea in Saudi children: is it adequate?
The prevalence of diarrhoea and especially the pattern of diarrhoea therapy in Saudi children under 5 years were studied as a part of the Maternal and Child Health Survey during 1991. A statistically representative sample of over 6300 mothers, from all over the country was interviewed by trained nurses. There were 3.8 episodes of diarrhoea per child under 5 per year. For treating diarrhoea, ORS, salt-sugar solution (SSS), other available solutions, intravenous fluid and various drugs were the therapeutic agents. In 73 per cent of cases ORS, nearly 3 per cent SSS, 33 per cent other solutions and in over 4 per cent intravenous fluid were used. Anti-diarrhoeal drugs and antibiotics were used in over 40 per cent of cases. Over 9 per cent of cases did not use any treatment. Young mothers used ORS at a higher rate (84 per cent) for their children compared to the average for all (73 per cent). Children of illiterate parents used ORS at a higher rate than children of literate parents. In urban area, the use-rate was lower (68 per cent) than in rural area (80 per cent). The regional use-rates were almost similar excepting a higher rate in the northern area. In over 87 per cent of cases, advice on diarrhoea therapy was obtained from government health centres (physicians/nurses), while only 3 per cent of the diarrhoea cases acquired information from national media. The overall use-rate of ORS was thus better than many other countries and there was a 25 per cent increase over the previous Saudi findings in 1987.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
al-Mazrou
Y Y
YY
Ministry of Preventive Medicine, MOH, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Aziz
K M
KM
Khan
M U
MU
Farag
M K
MK
al-Shehri
S N
SN
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003968:Diarrhea, Infantile / Q000628:therapy*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005440:Fluid Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006266:Health Education; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D016896:Treatment Outcome