PRACTICAL SCHEME FOR FLUID AND ELECTROLYTE THERAPY IN CHILDREN

The purpose of the present paper is to outline in simple, concise form a practical routine for prescribing fluids for parenteral use in pediatric patients. The vast new literature on fluid and electrolyte therapy, stressing the role of potassium, has upset older concepts, which emphasized sodium therapy and acid-base balance, and the result for many busy practitioners has been a certain amount of uncertainty and confusion. At the request of surgeons and pediatricians alike, I have endeavored to draw up a. few simple rules for therapy based on the fundamental research of Darrow, Butler, and many others. These rules and principles, which will be outlined later, have been in use in our clinic now for over one year and have proved not only simple and practical but also adaptable to nearly all surgical and medical situations that call for the parenteral use of fluids. First of all, in prescribing the