Axillary sweating in clinical assessment of dehydration in ill elderly patients

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Abstract
We studied people aged 70 or above consecutively admitted with acute medical conditions. Exclusion criteria were terminal illness; previous intravenous fluids; skin disorders; hypothermia (<=34°C); bathing in past four hours; use of antiperspirants in past 24 hours. Within 24 hours of admission, one of us applied preweighted tissue paper to the patients' right axilla for 15 minutes (left axilla if the patient had right hemiparesis). Patients held the arm at their right side. The paper was then placed in a preweighed plastic bag and reweighed. Two blinded observers graded axillary moisture by feeling the axillae (0=dry, 1=moist). The observer order was random (interval 1-6 hours).

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