ToolsCalculators
DHAKA Score for pediatric dehydration
Bedside clinical score to grade dehydration severity in children under 5 with diarrhoea.
DHAKA Score for pediatric dehydration
General appearance
Tears when crying
Skin pinch (abdominal skin turgor)
Respirations
Result0 points
No dehydration (score range 0-12).
- Dehydration category
- No dehydration
When to use
- Grading dehydration severity at the bedside in children under 5 years old with acute diarrhoea, particularly in resource-limited settings.
Formula
Sum of: general appearance (0/2/4) + tears (0/1/2) + skin pinch (0/2/4) + respirations (0/2). Range 0-12; 0-1 no dehydration, 2-3 some dehydration, >=4 severe dehydration.
Pearls and pitfalls
- Derived and internally validated in a prospective cohort of children with diarrhoea in Dhaka, Bangladesh; performs better than the WHO/IMCI dehydration algorithm in that setting.