NEW DATA ABOUT RISK FACTOR OF DEATH IN CHILDREN WITH DIARRHEA AND SHOCK

Abstract
Since data collection and publication of the study conducted by Brandão MB et al in 2005: "Risk factors of death in children with acute diarrhea and shock admitted to the intensive care unit" great advances have been achieved in connection with this issue. Data from the World Health Organization show that mortality due to diarrhea in children younger than 5 years has dropped from 4 million cases to 2.1 million cases. This reduction is around 50%, but the numbers are still quite high. In Brazil, the trend was similar: in 2000, deaths due to acute diarrhea in children under 5 years represented 12% of all deaths of children that age, and in 2004, it was 6.34%. At the pediatric Intensive Care Unit mentioned in the above study, we have observed a reduction in the number of children admitted to the ICU with acute diarrhea and shock. Pediatric patients admitted to the ICU with a diagnosis of acute diarrhea and shock from March 2004 to March 2006 were studied in order to asses their profile. The review undertaken through Medline showed that no studies related to this issue were published in the last 5 years, which means that the study conducted by Brandão MB et al in 2005 is still valid, and is a reference for the management and assessment of this kind of patients.

Key words
acute diarrhea, shock, children, risk factors, mortality

Bibliografía del artículo
1. World Health Organization. Child and adolescent health and development Avalaible from www.who.int/child-adolescent-health. Accessed 28 September 2006.
2. Datasus, Ministério da Saúde (Brasil). Avaliable from tabnet.datasus.gov.br. Accessed 1 October 2006.
3. Brandão MB et al. O óbito em crianças com diarréia aguda e choque em UTI. Rev Assoc Med Bras 51(4):237-240, 2005.