A clinical trial was conducted to assess the efficacy of a rice-based gruel as a rehydration solution, identified in a previous study to be widely used by mothers during diarrhoeal episodes in their children. More patients were discharged from the study with hypernatraemia in the group receiving ORS than in the group receiving rice-based gruel, whereas the number of patients with hyponatraemia on discharge was similar in both groups. Faecal sodium concentrations were similar on admission in both groups but were statistically significantly lower at discharge in the group receiving rice-based gruel. We concluded that rice-based gruel could be safely used as an oral rehydration solution at the community level.
Water passively follows the movement of sodium, due to solvent drag.
The most appealing features of ORT are that it is noninvasive and a more efficient way of treating dehydration than intravenous fluid and electrolyte administration. Blood and urine samples were obtained at discharge for similar determinations. Urine collection bags were used to separate urine from stools. All children were discharged from the hospital once their usual fluid diet had been reestablished. Treatment was considered failed in children whose hydration had not returned to normal within eight hours.