What is the fluid requirement for older persons without cardiac or renal disease?
The fluid requirement for older persons without cardiac or renal disease is approximately 30 mL/kg body weight/day. • Is there a standard treatment for fluid/electrolyte imbalance that presents with the same symptoms (e.g., lethargy, confusion, activity intolerance)? No single approach suffices for all situations and, in some cases, administration of fluids may be harmful. For example, a patient with progressive or acute heart failure with or without edema who may have intravascular volume depletion (reflected in an increase in the BUN/creatinine ratio) may need an increased dosage of diuretics, not more fluids. The physician must help to make such clinical decisions. • What treatment is recommended for a patient who is unstable because of an underlying fluid volume, has a terminal illness and is dying, and whose family wishes the patient to receive hydration while avoiding the use of intravenous lines or other invasive measures? The use of clysis may satisfy a family that wishes an en
