Effect of Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) in older individuals with Diarrhea and Hypovolemia
For Release: January 9, 2006
Columbia, MD.
For further information: contact trigsby@jhmi.edu or 410-550-0782
Reviewing risks associated with diarrhea and hypovolemia in older US population, Hopkins physician WB Greenough found that about 26% of US patients hospitalized for diarrhea are the elderly and that older patients account for 51 to 85% of the deaths from diarrhea in the USA. Greenough noted that older adults have enhanced risk to infectious agents, less ability to fight certain infections, and they are more likely to use antimicrobials and other diarrhea-inducing medications than younger adults. Dehydration can lead to greater risk of cardiovascular, cerebral and renal complications and thus an Oral Rehydration Therapy, a science-based treatment for volume depletion, can be initiated immediately by patients themselves without waiting for a diagnostic evaluation and losing time in prevention of dehydration.
Greenough noted that oral rehydration therapy is recommended for older individuals to begin early at the start of any diarrheal illness, and that antimotility drugs are not recommended. He noted that medications containing bismuth subsalicylate are often helpful for use during diarrhea, along with the oral rehydration therapy.
Published in The Journal of Geriatric Medicine Volume 5, No. 10, November/December 2005
To obtain copy of the complete study click here
For other information about this paper please contact:
Dr. W. B. Greenough, III, M.D.
John Hopkins Bayview Care center
5505 Hopkins Bayview Circle
Baltimore, MD 21224
E-mail: trigsby@jhmi.edu
About Dr. Greenough
Greenough is chairman of the Cera Products Inc. Scientific Advisory Board and is a founding member of the organization.
About Cera Products
Cera Products, Inc. is a Maryland-based manufacturer of rice-based oral rehydration and delivery products, including CeraLyte, CeraSport, CeraFlu Oral Rehydration Drinks, and CeraVet, an animal rehydration product, and CeraVacx, an oral vaccine and drug delivery product.
Cera Products, Inc. The Company is located in Columbia, Maryland.
Contact information: Telephone: 410-309-1000 or sales@ceraproducts.us