Accuracy of pediatric residents in determination of dehydration in children with gastroenteritis

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to determine the accuracy of pediatric residents in diagnosis of dehydration in children with gastroenteritis. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study in Dr. Sheikh Hospital, affiliated with Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (Mashhad, Iran), in 2016. One hundred fifteen children aged 1 month to 14 years with gastroenteritis were included according to easy sampling. All patients were weighed. Dehydration was scored as mild, moderate and severe by pediatric residents according to Nelson standard table including pulse rate, blood pressure, blood skin supplement, skin turgor, fontanel, mucus membrane, tear respiration and urine output criteria. Patients were rehydrated and reweighed consequently. Percent loss of body weight (PLBW) was calculated and compared with dehydration score. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS windows program version 19 (SPSS Institute, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) RESULTS: Of the115 children, 65 patients were male (56.5%) with the median age of 14.5 months. The Kendall’s tau-b and Spearman correlation coefficient for residents’ estimation and PLBW were 0.18 and 0.23 respectively (p=0.01 and 0.12 respectively). The ICC between estimated dehydration and PLBW was 0.47. According to residents’ estimation and gold standard, PLBW was 6.76% and 1.33%, respectively. The serum level of sodium, potassium, urea and creatinine were 141.8 mEq/L, 4.6 mEq/L, 34.45 mg/dL and 0.6 mg/dL, respectively. CONCLUSION: There is positive but weak correlation between residents’ estimation and PLBW in patients with dehydration. It is necessary to enhance the educational level of pediatric residents to increase the accuracy of physical examination and decrease medical errors.