Role of Oral Zinc Supplementation in treatment of Acute Dehydrating Diarrhea in children aged 6 months to 5 years

Background: Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) is the standard recommended treatment for acute dehydrating diarrhea but it has very little role in decreasing stool frequency and volume. Current studies recommend oral supplementation of zinc as an adjunct to ORS in treating acute dehydrating diarrhea of children especially those who are at risk of zinc deficiency and malnutrition. Aim: To determine the effect of oral zinc supplementation on duration of acute diarrhea and intake of ORS in children between 6 months and 5 years of age. Settings: Tehsil Head Quarters Hospital, Besham District Shangla, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from October 2019 to September 2020. Methodology: The study was double blinded Randomized Control Clinical Trial in children aged between 6 months to 5 years of age. A total of 90 children were included in the study. In addition to rehydration, 45 children were given oral zinc (20mg daily) while 45 children were given placebo. Results: All 45(100%) patients in zinc group and 39(86.6%) patients in placebo group recovered after 5 days of treatment. Zinc group had significantly reduced duration of diarrhea (68.3 +/- 9.4 vs. 99.8 +/- 15.2 hours) and consumed less ORS solution (2.3 +/- 0.8 vs. 3.4 +/- 1.1 liters) as compared to placebo group. Conclusion: It is concluded from this study that oral zinc supplementation in addition to ORS in treating acute dehydrating diarrhea of children has better effect on the clinical course of disease.