The Efficacy of Zinc Supplementation to Reduce the Duration of Acute Diarrhea in Children

Background: Diarrhea is one of the leading cause of death of children in developing countries. Many previous types of research show ed some therapeutic benefit of zinc supplementation on reducing the duration diarrhea. However, some of the studies showed conflicting results. It is important to find whether zinc supplementation is effective to reduce the duration of acute diarrhea which affect the rate of morbidity and mortality in children. Purpose: To determine the efficacy of zinc in reducing the duration of acute diarrhea in children. Method: A comprehensive literature search using four databases: PubMed, Cochrane, and Science direct, was conducted for studies published from March 2012 to 2017. A quality assessment was conducted using Center for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) guidelines. The efficacy of using zinc supplementation to reduce the duration of episodes in children suffering acute diarrhea was compared to children with no zinc supplementation or placebo. A critical and careful assessment was performed to present a reliable conclusion that may benefit from clinical practice. Result: The result of a systematic review from three meta-analyses: Lukarcik et al., Lamberti et al., and Lazzerini et al. suggest that there is a significant reduction of the duration of acute diarrhea with zinc supplementation in children below five years old. Although, heterogeneity was found within the studies, in general, the positive effect of zinc supplementation to improve the duration of diarrhea was observed in the three studies included. Conclusion: The use of zinc supplementation for treating children with diarrhea can be recommended to improve morbidity and mortality related to diarrhea.