A recent study conducted in two Indian states has found that doctors are not prescribing oral rehydration salts (ORS) enough, despite knowing its effectiveness in treating diarrhea in children. The study, which looked at areas with varying literacy levels and socioeconomic status, revealed that nearly 500,000 children die from diarrhea each year, a condition that can be easily treated with ORS.
Data collectors posed as fathers of children with diarrhea symptoms to approach health-care practitioners and assess their prescribing habits. One of the main reasons for under-prescribing ORS was found to be doctors assuming that parents would not be satisfied with it. However, lack of supply and financial incentives for doctors were found to have only a minimal impact on ORS prescription rates.
Pharmacies were also highlighted as having the worst record in over-prescribing antibiotics and under-prescribing ORS. The responsibility for ORS prescription was suggested to be shifted from parents to health-care providers based on the study’s findings, as failure to prescribe ORS can lead to life-threatening conditions requiring intravenous fluids and hospitalization.
The study emphasized the importance of further research to determine why many children are not receiving ORS for diarrhea treatment. The findings shed light on a crucial issue in child healthcare and underscore the need for doctors to prioritize the use of ORS in the treatment of diarrhea to prevent unnecessary deaths.
