Manejo de la diarrea en el hogar: errores y aciertos

Aceptado: 9 de junio de 2006 SUMMARY Objective. The aim of the study was to analyze motherss home practices among children with acute diarrhea. Methods. A cross sectional study was carried out in a group of 260 mothers of children with diarrhea. Mothers were requested to answer the "verbal biopsy" questionnaire to assess their practices concerning effective diarrhea management at home according to the World Health Organization and corresponding to the Norma Oficial Mexicana recommendations. Descriptive statistics and Chi square for differences were used. Results. Two groups of mothers were identified: those who had consulted a physician before attending the hospital (n = 191), and those who came to the hospital as their first choice (n = 69). The first group used antibiotics, antiemetics, breast-feeding and Oral Hydration Therapy more frequently than the second group (p < 0.05). Conclusions. The "verbal biopsy" instrument was useful to assess home management of children with diarrhea. This questionnaire was also useful to detect medical malpractice (unjustified prescription of anti- biotics and antiemetics) as well as to identify best practices (continued breast feeding and oral hydration).