EFFICACY OF ORAL ZINC AND PROBIOTIC ON ACUTE DIARRHEA IN INFANCY

doi:10.21608/azjp.2021.194419

EFFICACY OF ORAL ZINC AND PROBIOTIC ON ACUTE DIARRHEA IN INFANCY

Document Type : Original Article

10.21608/azjp.2021.194419

Abstract

Background: Diarrheal disease in childhood account for a large proportion (18%) of childhood deaths, with an estimated 1.5 million deaths per year globally, making it the second most common cause of child deaths worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF estimate that almost 2.5 billion episodes of diarrhea occur annually in children <5 year of age in developing countries, with more than80% of the episodes occurring in Africa and South Asia (46% and 38%, respectively).
Objective: To compare effect of zinc and probiotic alone or in combination in pediatric acute diarrhea (on the basis of decrease in frequency of stool and change of consistency).
Patients and Method: This comparative analytical study that was conducted at Sohag Teaching Hospital from 1st of March 2020 to 1st November 2020 on 150 children aged between six months to ten years was presented with acute diarrhea for 24 hours. There were divided into groups classified by simple random method into three groups:
Group I: included 50 patients received oral zinc for 5 days as per WHO protocol along with ORS and/ or IV fluids if required (20mg/day per oral).
Group II: included 50 patients received probiotic therapy orally for 5 days along with ORS and /or IV fluid if required (Saccharomyces boulardii – 1sachet (250mg = 5billion CFU). 1 sachet dissolved in 4tsp of water, to be given twice daily for five days.).
Group III: included 50 patients received combination zinc and probiotic for 5 days along with ORS and /or IV fluid if required.
All studied groups subjected to complete history, clinical and laboratory examination.
Results: In the current study we found that frequency of stool after treatment were decreased in all groups and more lower frequency founded in combined group but with insignificant differences In the current study we found that as regard diarrhea duration after treatment there were more decrease in duration in combined groups versus zinc and probiotic but with no significant differences In the current study we found that there was increase in weight after treatment with more increase in combined group but with insignificant differences In the current study we found that there was lower hospital stay in combined group versus zinc and probiotic group but with insignificant differences
Conclusion: In children with acute nonbacterial watery diarrhea, Zinc or Probiotic supplementation reduced the duration of diarrhea. In our study children receiving combined therapy were more likely to be diarrhea-free after five days, with better outcomes along with improvement in consistency and reducing the duration of hospital stay. We conclude that, combination of probiotics & zinc therapy is more effective in reducing the severity of acute diarrhea.