WATER AND ELECTROLYTE STUDIES IN CHOLERA *

Rational treatment of cholera cannot be provided without precise knowledge of the water and electrolyte losses which occur in this disease; such information is not available in the literature. Studies prior to 1900 usually reported electrolyte concentrations in whole blood, not in plasma, and sodium and chloride were frequently reported as NaCl. Since 1900 there have been many reports of electrolyte concentrations in plasma or fecal excreta but only one preliminary report (1) relates fecal losses to plasma levels in the same patient. However, this report suffers, as do all others on cholera, from the fact that oral intake was not restricted and it is not certain to what extent fecal electrolytes had been diluted wit