title: [The use of pacifiers in children: fecal contamination and association with diarrhea].
abstract: A cross-sectional study of 354 children under two years of age was carried out in two periurban slums, with poor sanitary and socioeconomic conditions, located in Pelotas, southern Brazil. Most (79%) of the children studied were current users of pacifiers, 15% had never used one and the remaining 6% were ex-users. Among current users, 38% sucked a pacifier most of the time ("constant users"). Of the pacifiers in constant use, 93% were cultured for evidence of fecal contamination. Fecal coliforms were present in 49% of these. Diarrhoea was reported in 35% of all the children in the two weeks preceding the survey. Among constant pacifiers users, 40% had had diarrhoea in the preceding fortnight; this proportion was 32% for occasional users and 37% for non-users. These differences were not statistically significant.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Social da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade Federal de Pelotas, RS, Brasil.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tomasi
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Victora
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Post
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Olinto
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Béhague
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003968:Diarrhea, Infantile / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007224:Infant Care; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011204:Poverty Areas; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors
vernacular_title: Uso de chupeta em crianças: contaminação fecal e associação com diarréia.