Application times of the clinical dehydration and Gorelick scales in the pediatric emergency

Abstract

Introduction: dehydration is one of the most frequent clinical diagnoses in the pediatric patient. Objective: to evaluate the application times of the clinical dehydration and Gorelick scales in the pediatric emergency. Method: a cross-sectional and correlational study was carried out in 48 children between one and four years of age with diagnosed dehydration in the guardhouse of the Polyclinic "Luis Enrique de la Paz", of Yara (Granma) in the period from May to November 2016. Measures of central tendency and dispersion were applied, as well as the Pearson correlation coefficient and the T test. Results: 54,17 % belonged to the male sex with a general average age of 2,45 years, 77,08 % were diagnosed with moderate or severe dehydration according to the Gorelick scale and 33,33 % according to the clinical dehydration scale. The difference in the average time of application of both scales was 18,29 seconds, in favor of the clinical dehydration scale. This difference was statistically significant. Both scales presented a considerable positive correlation, so they are recommended for clinical practice. Conclusions: both scales have a similar diagnostic capacity; the average application time was significantly shorter for the clinical dehydration scale. The latter is more useful for discriminating the presence of mild dehydration in the first level of care, while the Gorelick scale is more advantageous for diagnosing severe dehydration, and therefore, is more appropriate for application in pediatric emergency cases