title: Is racecadotril effective for acute diarrhea in children? -First update.
abstract: This article updates the December 2015 Living FRISBEE (Living FRISBEE: Living FRIendly Summary of the Body of Evidence using Epistemonikos), based on the detection of two systematic reviews not identified in the previous version. Gastroenteritis or acute watery diarrhea is usually a self-limited disease, but it is still associated to substantial healthcare costs and remains a frequent demand for medical care. Racecadotril, an intestinal enkephalinase inhibitor, has been used as treatment because it would decrease the duration of acute diarrhea and fluid loss. However there is still no evidence supporting its routine use. Searching in Epistemonikos database, which is maintained by screening 30 databases, we identified five systematic reviews including nine randomized trials relevant for our question. We combined the evidence using meta-analysis and generated a summary of findings table following the GRADE approach. We concluded racecadotril probably reduces the duration of acute diarrhea in pediatric patients, without increasing adverse effects.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile. Address: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Lira 63, Santiago Centro, Chile. Email: lcifuen@med.puc.cl.
authors.forename: Josefina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sáez
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile; Departamento de Pediatría, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Programa de Salud Basada en Evidencia, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cifuentes
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000930:Antidiarrheals / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015244:Thiorphan / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000930:Antidiarrheals; C049331:racecadotril; D015244:Thiorphan