Dietary management of acute diarrhea with local foods in a Guatemalan rural community

A community-based, randomized trial was conducted to evaluate a locally available diet for the management of acute diarrhea (n = 99 episodes) in 90 Guatemalan children, 4-42 months of age. The Test Diet (TD), a combination of a semi-solid pap (maize flour, black beans, oil) and a liquid gruel, Incaparina (maize hour, cotton seed flour, sugar), in addition to breast-milk and other home foods (group TD, n = 45 episodes) was offered for 14 d and compared to usual home feeding (group HF, n = 54 episodes). Diarrhea episodes after admission were significantly shorter for group TD (median 2.0 d) than group HF (median 4.4 d, p = 0.003) after adjusting for potential confounders. Weight gains did not differ significantly between groups. We conclude that community-based dietary management of acute childhood diarrhea using energy-dense, locally available foods is feasible and may shorten diarrhea duration. This may encourage mothers to follow recommendations for continued feeding during diarrhea in developing country environments.