Dehydration With Non-diarrheal Illnesses in Pediatric Patients: Insights From Real-World, Electronic Medical Records Retrospective Data

Introduction Diarrheal dehydration is well known with specific guidelines. However, non-diarrheal dehydration is often unreported. To date, there has not been a single study to report the prevalence of dehydration due to non-diarrheal conditions in pediatric patients. Materials and methods Electronic medical record (EMR) data from January 2017 to March 2023 for patients with non-diarrheal illnesses meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria were retrieved and analyzed to understand the prevalence of dehydration due to non-diarrheal conditions in Pediatric patients. Further, the associated conditions for these patients with dehydration were also evaluated. Results Of the total, 18,89,680 pediatric patients, merely 1,888 patients (0.09%) had dehydration-related complaints recorded in the prescription. The percentage was strikingly less than the expectations from real-world data. Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and fever were observed to be the most common associated non-diarrheal conditions for patients with dehydration. Conclusion There is a need to bridge the reporting gap by creating awareness among pediatricians and physicians to manage dehydration in non-diarrheal illnesses appropriately for better patient outcomes.