[Treatment of choleriform diarrhea during pregnancy]

A retrospective review was conducted of the clinical histories of 43 pregnant women treated for acute diarrheal disease in the emergency ward of the María Auxiliadora Departmental Hospital (HADMA) in Lima, Peru, and 32 of the histories were selected for this study. These 32 patients had been admitted to the cholera treatment unit (CTU) of the HADMA for acute choleraic diarrhea with moderate or severe dehydration. The objective was to analyze the clinical evolution of the patients, their response to isotonic rehydration therapy (0.9% saline solution), and the consequences for their pregnancies. The following variables were examined: age; trimester of pregnancy; heart rate and mean blood pressure (MBP) at admission; number of hours since last normal urination; duration of diarrhea; degree of dehydration; volume of diarrhea and vomiting; volume of saline solution administered in the first 2 hours and in total; volume of multi-electrolyte solution (MES) or oral rehydration salts (ORS) administered from the second to the sixth hour and in total; and hours between admission to the emergency ward and transfer to the cholera treatment unit (EME/CTU). Logistic regression analysis revealed a direct and statistically significant correlation between the time of recovery of diuresis and the EME/CTU (P = 0.001; r = 0.65), as well as between time of recovery of diuresis and the volume of diarrhea in the first 4 hours.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)