Effectiveness of tender coconut water in controlling and replacement of electrolytes among children with acute gastro enteritis at institute of child health and research Centre, GRH, Madurai.

M. Arulmozhi , L. Selva Regi Ruben , S. Rajeswari

Tender coconut water, Acute Gastroenteritis, Electrolyte imbalance.

Introduction: The Background: Acute Gastroenteritis (AGE) is a major cause of illness and death in children under five. Tender coconut water, rich in natural electrolytes, may help manage dehydration. Aim: The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of tender coconut water in correcting electrolyte imbalance in children with AGE at GRH, Madurai. Methods: A one-group pretest-posttest design was used. Forty children aged 1–12 years with AGE and some dehydration received age-appropriate doses of tender coconut water three times daily for three days, along with standard care. Pretest and posttest electrolyte levels were compared using paired t-test, and associations were analyzed using Chi-square test. Results: Hyponatremia and hypokalemia were present in 70% and 67.5% of children, respectively, before the intervention. Post-intervention, 92.5% had normal sodium and 97.5% had normal potassium levels. Mean sodium rose from 133.03 to 137.45 and potassium from 3.39 to 3.91 (p = 0.000). Electrolyte levels were significantly associated with gender, income, temperature, vomiting, and urine output. Conclusion: Tender coconut water is an effective natural therapy for restoring electrolytes in children with AGE and can be used to support standard treatment.

Paper Reg. ID:IJIRHS-202456
Published Paper Id:ijirhs.202456
Research Area:Health Science All
Country: ,,
DOI: https://doi.org/10.63349/ijirhs.202456

Published Paper PDF: https://ijirhs.org/papers/ijirhs.202456
Published Paper URL: https://ijirhs.org/viewpaper.php?paper=IJIRHS-202456