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 .
Oral zinc for the treatment of acute gastroenteritis in Polish children: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of zinc in the treatment of acute gastroenteritis ( AGE ) in children in Pol and . STUDY DESIGN Children aged 3 to 48 months with AGE were enrolled in a r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled trial in which they received zinc sulfate ( 10 or 20 mg/day depending on age ) or placebo for 10 days . A total of 141 of 160 children recruited were available for intention-to-treat analysis . The primary outcome was the duration of diarrhea . RESULTS In the experimental group ( n = 69 ) compared with the control group ( n = 72 ) , there was no significant difference in the duration of diarrhea ( P > .05 ) . Similarly , there was no significant difference in the groups in secondary outcome measures such as stool frequency on days 1 , 2 , and 3 , vomiting frequency , intravenous fluid intake , and the number of children with diarrhea lasting > 7 days . CONCLUSION Children living in a country where zinc deficiency is rare do not appear to benefit from the use of zinc in the treatment of AGE
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 .