[Sustained feeding in acute diarrhea in children below 5 years of age].
OBJECTIVE
To identify locally available and culturally acceptable foods for children with acute diarrhea, and test their acceptance and effect on the child's weight.


METHODS
142 mothers of children younger than five years of age living in rural communities were interviewed to indentify culturally accepted diets by means of group sorting. These were displayed in a multidimensional scale. A descriptive study was performed of the clinical course of 54 children, ages 4 to 50 months who received the designed diets during the first 48 hours of diarrhea.


RESULTS
The designed diets considered age of the child, and stage of the disease. Children spent 47.6 +/- 22.2 h in the hospital during which they consumed 44.8 +/- 28.6 kcal/kg/day (additional to breast milk) and they gained 70.6 +/- 179.7 g. A direct relationship was observed between increasing age and larger caloric intake, and between this and greater weight gain.


CONCLUSIONS
Children showed good acceptance of diets. Caloric intake was enough to prevent weight loss.
Martínez-Salgado
H
H
Centro de Investigación en Salud Poblacional, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, México. homero@profmexis.sar.net
Diez-Urdanivia
S
S
Meneses-Díaz
L M
LM
D000208:Acute Disease; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000178:diet therapy*; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers
Alimentación sostenida durante diarrea aguda en niños menores de cinco años.