Fluid Balance Study in Sick Neonates

Fluid balance charts are commonly used, in the Netherlands, to assess patient fluid volume status. Some disadvantages of recording fluid intake and output are that it is time-consuming and complex. If it would give reliable and accurate information about the fluid volume status there would be a good reason for all this effort. In the few researches that have investigated this subject a low correlation has been found between the fluid balance and the weight changes of an adult patient. Own experience gives reasons to doubt about the reliability of the fluid balance in children, not rarely there is a discrepancy between the fluid balance and the weight measurement. We are interested in the relevance of recording fluid balance in neonates.