title: Zinc treatment for 5 or 10 days is equally efficacious in preventing diarrhea in the subsequent 3 months among Bangladeshi children.
abstract: We conducted a randomized, double-blind placebo controlled, community trial in rural Bangladesh in children 4-59 mo of age to compare the efficacy of a 5- and 10-d course of zinc therapy on the incidence and duration of diarrhea over the subsequent 90-d follow-up after initial treatment for an acute childhood diarrheal (ACD) episode. Children (n = 1622) with ACD were randomly allocated to either 5 or 10 d of zinc treatment. Female field workers visited each child daily, supervised the administration of zinc, recorded the duration of current episode, and the occurrence and duration of diarrhea over the subsequent 3 mo. The incidence of diarrhea over the 90 d of follow-up did not differ between the 5-d (1.08 ± 1.38 episodes) and 10-d (1.02 ± 1.35 episodes) groups (P = 0.35). Children in both groups experienced a comparable duration of diarrheal episodes (3.1 ± 5.6 d vs. 2.9 ± 5.6 d, 5-d vs. 10-d, respectively; P = 0.64) with a mean difference between groups within the defined range of equivalence. Time to onset of the first episode and the proportion children experiencing diarrhea during the 90-d follow-up also did not differ between groups. These findings suggest that among Bangladeshi children, a 5-d zinc treatment for ACD is as efficacious as 10 d in preventing diarrhea in the subsequent 3 mo.
authors.affiliation: Health Systems and Infectious Diseases Division, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh. dsalam@icddrb.org
authors.forename: Dewan S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Alam
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yunus
authors.forename: Shams
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: El Arifeen
authors.forename: Hafizur R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Chowdury
authors.forename: Charles P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Sack
authors.forename: Abdullah H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Baqui
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Black
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000930:Antidiarrheals / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D001459:Bangladesh; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012424:Rural Population; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015032:Zinc / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000930:Antidiarrheals; D015032:Zinc