Recent trends in pediatric fluid therapy.

Virtually all hospitalized pediatric patients require some form of intravenous fluid administration. The foundation of current pediatric fluid therapy practice was formulated in the 1950s when pediatricians were dealing with relatively simple dehydration and normal homeostasis could largely be assumed. Recent advances in pediatric medicine have resulted in increased severity of illness and normal physiology can no longer be assumed. The traditional approach to pediatric fluid therapy has been recently challenged by the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH), cerebral salt wasting syndrome (CSWS), diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyponatremia caused by the inappropriate use of hypotonic solutions, all of which involve unusual sodium and serum osmolarity dynamics causing life threatening central nervous system (CNS) pathophysiology. In this review, we give an overview of the recent understanding of pediatric fluid therapy. The widespread use of acetate in place of lactate as a bicarbonate precursor and the expanding role of nonalbumin plasma expanders in pediatrics are also discussed as they will play a clinical role in the near future.