Subcutaneous hydration by hypodermoclysis - A practical and low cost treatment for elderly patients

As the world's population ages, chronic and degenerative diseases are risin g. This scenario demands the development of new treatment techniques with l ower costs, which are as efficient as the existing ones. Hypodermoclysis is the infusion of fluids into the subcutaneous tissue with a butterfly needle. This technique may be used for isotonic fluid replacem ent and to administer cytosine arabinoside, clodronate, antibiotics and nar cotic analgesics. This review evaluates the evidence supporting the use of hypodermoclysis to treat elderly patients with dehydration and patients with terminal cancer, and discusses its indications, adverse effects and perspectives. A MEDLINE search of the last 30 years was done to recover all available literature. Hypodermoclysis therapy is a safe and effective method to provide fluids an d narcotic analgesic therapy in elderly patients that are mild and moderate dehydrated and in patients with cancer. It seems a good option to provide antibiotics, but there is a need for more studies to evaluate this indicati on.