title: Volume depletion versus dehydration: how understanding the difference can guide therapy.
abstract: Although often used interchangeably, dehydration and volume depletion are not synonyms. Dehydration refers to loss of total-body water, producing hypertonicity, which now is the preferred term in lieu of dehydration, whereas volume depletion refers to a deficit in extracellular fluid volume. In particular, hypertonicity implies intracellular volume contraction, whereas volume depletion implies blood volume contraction. Using a case of hyperglycemic hypertonic nonketosis as an example, we examine the changing composition of body fluid spaces to explore the distinction between dehydration and hypertonicity from volume depletion.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
authors.forename: Gautam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bhave
authors.forename: Eric G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Neilson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003681:Dehydration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D045604:Extracellular Fluid; D005440:Fluid Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009626:Terminology as Topic