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 .
Initiation of zinc treatment for acute childhood diarrhoea and risk for vomiting or regurgitation: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
The childhood diarrhoea-management guidelines of the World Health Organization/United Nations Children 's Fund ( WHO/UNICEF ) now include zinc treatment , 20 mg per day for 10 days . To determine if a dispersible zinc sulphate tablet formulation is associated with increased risk of vomiting or regurgitation following the initial , first treatment dose , a double-blind , placebo-controlled  r and omized clinical trial was carried out in the Dhaka hospital of ICDDR , B : Centre for Health and Population Research ( n=800 ) and in an adjacent NGO outpatient clinic ( n=800 ) . Children were r and omized to one of three groups : no treatment , placebo , or zinc sulphate tablet ( 20 mg ) . They were then observed for 60 minutes , and all vomiting or regurgitation episodes were recorded . When compared with placebo , zinc treatment result ed in an attributable risk increase of 14 % for vomiting and 5.2 % for regurgitation . The median time to vomiting among those receiving zinc was 9.6 minutes and was limited to one episode in 91.2 % of the cases . Overall , the proportion of 60-minute post-treatment vomiting attributable to zinc , placebo , and the illness episode was estimated to be 40 % , 26 % , and 34 % respectively . The dispersible zinc sulphate tablet formulation at a dose of 20 mg is associated with increased risks of vomiting and regurgitation . Both are transient side-effects
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 .