The Correlation between Dehydration and Urine Specific Gravity in Children with Gasteroenteritis

Dehydration causes major morbidities worldwide. It is estimated on the basis of patient's clinical symptoms. The present study was conducted in Imam Hossein and Mofid hospitals in order to assess the correlation between dehydration severity and urine specific gravity in a group of children with gastroenteritis.

In this descriptive study, children with gastroenteritis were enrolled based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Dehydration severity was estimated by their clinical signs and symptoms while urine specific gravity, BUN, Cr, Bs and Na were gathered. Finally, spearman correlation index was calculated.

A total of 191 cases were studied. There was a significant correlation between urine specific gravity and dehydration (r=0.68, p<0.001). Meanwhile, there was a significant correlation between urine specific gravity and BUN (r=0.56, p<0.001).

Results revealed a considerable relationship between urine specific gravity and dehydration severity, however applying urine specific gravity as a predictive index for dehydration severity requires further complementary studies.