Diarrhea prevalence on days 3 , 5 , and 7 was lower in the zinc group .
The incidence of vomiting was significantly greater in the group that received zinc than in the control group .
CONCLUSIONS Oral zinc supplementation significantly decreases diarrhea duration and has a greater effect on malnourished children .
OBJECTIVE To up date the available evidence about zinc use for treating diarrhea in children and to assess its effect on the malnourished population , a subgroup that has not been fully explored in previous analyses .
Zinc supplementation in the management of shigellosis in malnourished children in Bangladesh
Objective : To assess the impact of zinc supplementation on clinical recovery , weight gain and subsequent growth and morbidity in moderately malnourished children with shigellosis . Design : A r and omized , double-blind , controlled trial . Setting : Dhaka hospital of ICDDR , B : Centre for Health and Population Research , Dhaka , Bangladesh . Subjects : Fifty-six moderately malnourished children , aged 12–59 months with culture-proven shigellosis . Methods : Subjects were r and omly allocated to receive zinc ( 20 mg/day elemental ) in multivitamin syrup ( intervention ) or multivitamin syrup without zinc ( control ) in two equally divided doses daily for 2 weeks . All children received pivmecillinam in a dose of 15 mg/kg every 6 h for 5 days . After supplementation , children were followed in their respective homes every 2 weeks for 6 months . Results : Children receiving zinc recovered from acute illness significantly faster than the control children ( P<0.05 ) . The medians time ( days ) to recovery and disappearances of blood and mucous were significantly 50 % shorter in the zinc-supplemented group compared to the control group . The mean body weight of zinc supplemented children increased significantly from 8.8 kg on admission to 9.2 kg ( P<0.01 ) at recovery , which was not observed in the control children ( from 9.3 to 9.6 kg ; P=0.12 ) . During the 6-month follow-up period , zinc-supplemented children had significantly fewer mean episodes of diarrhoea compared to the control children ( 2.2 vs 3.3 ; P=0.03 ) . Conclusion : Zinc supplementation significantly shortens the duration of acute shigellosis , promotes better weight gain during recovery and reduces diarrhoeal morbidity during the subsequent 6 months
Diarrhea prevalence on days 3 , 5 , and 7 was lower in the zinc group .
The incidence of vomiting was significantly greater in the group that received zinc than in the control group .
CONCLUSIONS Oral zinc supplementation significantly decreases diarrhea duration and has a greater effect on malnourished children .
OBJECTIVE To up date the available evidence about zinc use for treating diarrhea in children and to assess its effect on the malnourished population , a subgroup that has not been fully explored in previous analyses .