NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Children with acute diarrhea recover more quickly when treated with a hypotonic oral rehydration solution containing zinc and prebiotics than those given standard oral rehydration, an Italian group reports in The Journal of Pediatrics online September 9.

Dr. Roberto Berni Canani and colleagues at the University of Naples ‘‘Federico II’’ explain that currently available oral rehydration solutions (ORS) deal with dehydration associated with severe diarrhea but don’t address duration or severity. Furthermore, low osmolarity ORS with zinc have been tested mainly in malnourished children in the developing world.

“Despite this, there is a large use of several formulations of ORS containing such substances as zinc, prebiotics, probiotics, and glutamine on the market without clear evidence of their efficacy in children living in developed countries,” the authors point out.

They investigated the efficacy of a new hypotonic ORS containing zinc plus fructooligosaccharides and xilooligosaccharides in children 3-36 months old with acute diarrhea seen in pediatricians’ offices. In the single-blind study, 60 children given standard hypotonic ORS completed the study along with 59 who received the new ORS.

Resolution of diarrhea at 72 hours was documented in 30 children in the standard ORS group (50.0%) and in 43 children in the new ORS group (72.9%, p=.010), according to the report. Also, the number of daily stool outputs was consistently lower at 24, 48 and 72 hours with the new solution.

For parents, this meant less time off work — 1.49 vs. 0.39 days in the two groups, respectively.

“No adverse events related to the use of the ORS were observed in the study groups,” the researchers report.

They conclude, “The results of our trial suggest that a new hypotonic ORS containing zinc and prebiotics is useful in the treatment of ambulatory children with acute diarrhea living in a developed country.”

Reference:

Efficacy of a New Hypotonic Oral Rehydration Solution Containing Zinc and Prebiotics in the Treatment of Childhood Acute Diarrhea: A Randomized Controlled Trial

J Pediatr 2010.