title: Reduction of fluid-loss in cholera by nicotinic acid: a randomised controlled trial.
abstract: A randomised controlled clinical trial was conducted to investigate the ability of nicotinic acid to reduce intestinal secretion in patients with severe cholera. Of the 62 adults investigated, 29 received either 1 or 2 g of nicotinic acid given orally in divided doses and 33 served as controls. Patients who received the 2 g dose had less fluid loss than did their controls during the first (p less than 0.01) and second (p less than 0.05) 8 h post-treatment periods. During the third and fourth 8 h periods, the rates were lower in the treatment groups, but not significantly so. The drug-specific stool reduction was 31%-47% during the first 16 h. Patients receiving 1 g consistently had lower rates of purging than had their controls during each 8 h observation period, but the differences were not significant. The effect of the 2 g dose was significantly better than that with the 1 g dose. The peak inhibition occurred 8-16 h after start of therapy. The drug was well tolerated, the only side-effect being transient flushing of the body in 1 patient.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001459:Bangladesh; D001835:Body Weight; D002771:Cholera / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003681:Dehydration / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007419:Intestinal Secretions / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D009525:Niacin / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011897:Random Allocation
chemical_list: D009525:Niacin