Half Saline or Normal Saline Maintenance Intravenous Fluid Therapy in Children

Electrolyte disorders in hospitalized children have several causes. One of the most important and common causes is using inappropriate maintenance intravenous fluids. This study aimed to investigate the effect and type of maintenance of intravenous fluids on the incidence of electrolyte disturbance in hospitalized children.

This research is a prospective cohort study. Non-surgical hospitalized children were divided into two groups based on the type of intravenous fluid received (normal saline [0.9% NaCl] or half saline [0.45% NaCl]). After matching two groups in terms of age and gender, the incidence of electrolyte disturbances (sodium and potassium) was evaluated in the two groups on the second and third days of the study.

A total of 163 patients were included in this study. About 55.5% of the children were boys, and 44.5% were girls. The Mean±SD age of the children was 48.42±36.35 months, and their mean weight was 19.49±10.88 kg. Also, 50.6% of patients were in the half saline group and 49.4% in the normal saline group. Initially, serum sodium and potassium levels were normal in both groups. On the second and third days of the study, the incidence of serum sodium and potassium disorders was higher in patients who received half saline fluid, but this higher incidence was not statistically significant (P>0.05).

There is no significant difference between normal saline and half saline in terms of electrolyte disturbance if the patient’s clinical condition is judged correctly and an appropriate volume of fluids is prescribed.