Performance Stock Units Fair Value Assumptions (Detail) - Performance Shares - $ / shares	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Baxter volatility	19.00%	20.00%	19.00%
Peer group volatility
Peer group volatility minimum	16.00%	17.00%	16.00%
Peer group volatility maximum	54.00%	51.00%	38.00%
Correlation of returns
Correlation of returns minimum	0.19	0.22	0.24
Correlation of returns maximum	0.58	0.73	0.55
Risk-free interest rate	1.60%	1.00%	1.10%
Fair value per PSU	$ 69	$ 51	$ 46

Correlation of returns.

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Correlation of returns maximum.

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Correlation of returns minimum.

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No definition available.

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Share based compensation arrangement by share based payment award fair value assumptions grants in period weighted average grant date fair value.

+ References

No definition available.

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The estimated measure of the percentage by which a share price is expected to fluctuate during a period. Volatility also may be defined as a probability-weighted measure of the dispersion of returns about the mean. The volatility of a share price is the standard deviation of the continuously compounded rates of return on the share over a specified period. That is the same as the standard deviation of the differences in the natural logarithms of the stock prices plus dividends, if any, over the period.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 718
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (f)(2)(ii)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=96867065&loc=d3e5070-113901

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The estimated measure of the maximum percentage by which a share price is expected to fluctuate during a period. Volatility also may be defined as a probability-weighted measure of the dispersion of returns about the mean. The volatility of a share price is the standard deviation of the continuously compounded rates of return on the share over a specified period. That is the same as the standard deviation of the differences in the natural logarithms of the stock prices plus dividends, if any, over the period.

+ References

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The estimated measure of the minimum percentage by which a share price is expected to fluctuate during a period. Volatility also may be defined as a probability-weighted measure of the dispersion of returns about the mean. The volatility of a share price is the standard deviation of the continuously compounded rates of return on the share over a specified period. That is the same as the standard deviation of the differences in the natural logarithms of the stock prices plus dividends, if any, over the period.

+ References

No definition available.

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The risk-free interest rate assumption that is used in valuing an option on its own shares.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 718
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (f)(2)(iv)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=96867065&loc=d3e5070-113901

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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