Treating Viral Diarrhea in Children by Probiotic and Zinc Supplements

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this study was to analyze the effects of probiotics and zinc supplements on the mean duration and frequency of acute diarrhea in children aged 6 months to 2 years.MethodsIn this clinical trial of infants aged between 6 months and 2 years, eligible patients were divided into 3 groups: Zinc Receiving Group (ZRG), Probiotic Receiving Group (PRG), and a control group receiving supportive care alone. The frequency of diarrhea was evaluated in the test groups during the first 24 hours and 48–72 hours, along with the duration of hospitalization and diarrhea persistence for 3–7 days.ResultsDiarrhea persisted for until the third day of admission in 100% of the infants in PRG compared with only 76.1% in ZRG. The relative risk of diarrhea persistence in the PRG was 1.31 times more than in ZRG until the third day. Also, 80% of diarrhea cases in the PRG persisted until the fourth day of admission, compared with 47.8% in the ZRG group, and this value was significant. The relative incidence of diarrhea persistence in the PRG was 36.4 times greater than in the ZRG until the day 4. Also, the percentage of post-treatment complications was 35.5% in the PRG and 2.6% in the ZRG, which was significant.ConclusionIn our study, the effectiveness of zinc at a dose of 20 mg was higher than that of probiotics. The complications associated with zinc supplementation were lower than those of probiotics.

Effect of a new Lactobacillus plantarum product, LRCC5310, on clinical symptoms and virus reduction in children with rotaviral enteritis

“…[ 2 , 17 ] The use of antidiarrheal drugs is not desirable for the improvement of such diarrhea symptoms, and it is known that probiotic formulations containing zinc, Lactobacillus species, and Saccharomyces species are helpful. [ 3 , 18 ] Even in our study, symptoms such as vomiting, fever, and abdominal pain did not last long. Maybe this explains why symptoms did not last long in any of the groups and why there was no difference between the 3 groups in terms of duration or severity.…”

Mind the gap: what explains the rural-nonrural inequality in diarrhoea among under-five children in low and medium-income countries? A decomposition analysis

“…Epidemiologic studies have shown that factors that predispose children to diarrhoea are a complex interaction between socio-economic, environmental, and behavioural variables [14][15][16][17]. Diarrhoea-related morbidity and mortality among U5C have been linked to poor hygiene and sanitation practices [1,18], limited access to improved sources of drinking water [3,14], socioeconomic status, education level, place of residence [9], inappropriate breastfeeding [17,18], zinc deficiency [19] and other immediate household and environmental characteristics [5,8,14] The higher prevalence of diarrhoea in the LMIC has been attributed to the standard of living which differs across the rural-non-rural differences in place of residence [20].…”

Considerations on the Influence of Zinc on Infectious Diseases in Children

“…The medical literature has shown discordance, referring to the role of zinc in the prevention and treatment of ADD in children. In a Cochrane study, conducted on 33 trials and 10,841 children, no favourable effects were found after zinc administration in the case of children suffering by ADD, but without zinc deficiency [43].On the other hand, Ahmadipour et al, in a study conducted in 2019 on 146 infants with V-ADD from Iran, sustain the positive effect of zinc administration on the duration, evolution and complications of the disease [44].…”