Demonstration of the effectiveness of zinc in diarrhoea of children living in Switzerland.

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_11C56D7E94B7
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Demonstration of the effectiveness of zinc in diarrhoea of children living in Switzerland.
Journal
European Journal of Pediatrics
Author(s)
Crisinel P.A., Verga M.E., Kouame K.S., Pittet A., Rey-Bellet C.G., Fontaine O., Di Paolo E.R., Gehri M.
ISSN
1432-1076 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0340-6199
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2015
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
174
Number
8
Pages
1061-1067
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article ; Randomized Controlled Trial ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Publication Status: ppublish
Abstract
We designed a double-blinded randomized clinical trial of zinc (10 or 20 mg of zinc sulphate for 2-5 month-old or 6-59 month-old children, respectively, during 10 days) vs. placebo in otherwise healthy children aged 2 months to 5 years who presented with acute diarrhoea (i.e. ≥3 stools/day for less than 72 h). Eighty-seven patients (median age 14 months; range 3.1-58.3) were analysed in an intention-to-treat approach. Forty-two patients took zinc and 45 placebo. There was no difference in the duration nor in the frequency of diarrhoea, but only 5% of the zinc group still had diarrhoea at 120 h of treatment compared to 20% in the placebo group (P = 0.05). Thirty-one patients (13 zinc and 18 placebo) were available for per-protocol analyses. The median (IQR) duration of diarrhoea in zinc-treated patients was 47.5 h (18.3-72) and differed significantly from the placebo group (median 76.3; IQR 52.8-137) (P = 0.03). The frequency of diarrhoea was also lower in the zinc group (P = 0.02).
CONCLUSION: zinc treatment decreases the frequency and severity of diarrhoea in children aged 2 months to 5 years living in Switzerland. However, the intention-to-treat analysis reveals compliance issues that question the proper duration of treatment and the choice of optimal pharmaceutical formulation.
Keywords
Acute Disease, Child, Preschool, Diarrhea/diet therapy, Diarrhea/physiopathology, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Double-Blind Method, Female, Humans, Infant, Male, Severity of Illness Index, Switzerland, Time Factors, Treatment Outcome, Zinc Compounds/administration & dosage, Zinc Compounds/therapeutic use, Zinc Sulfate/administration & dosage, Zinc Sulfate/therapeutic use
Pubmed
Web of science
Create date
27/08/2015 9:31
Last modification date
20/08/2019 12:39
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