[Incidence of hypernatremic dehydration in acute infantile gastroenteritis]

A retrospective study on the incidence in our hospital of hypernatremic dehydration was performed. Authors observed a linear decrease both in the frequency of hypernatremic dehydration and in the incidence of hypernatremias above 160 mmol/l, during the 8-year period included in the study. For the past few years a tendency to see affected babies of older age was also observed. We believe that the reasons for these facts are the new dietary habits in infancy feeding and specially the greater use of formulas with low solute and protein content.