Short-course prophylactic zinc supplementation for diarrhea morbidity in infants of 6 to 11 months.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Zinc supplementation during diarrhea substantially reduces the incidence and severity of diarrhea. However, the effect of short-course zinc prophylaxis has been observed only in children >12 months of age. Because the incidence of diarrhea is comparatively high in children aged 6 to 11 months, we assessed the prophylactic effect of zinc on incidence and duration of diarrhea in this age group.

METHODS:

In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we enrolled infants aged 6 to 11 months from an urban resettlement colony in Delhi, India, between January 1, 2011, and January 15, 2012. We randomly assigned 272 infants to receive either 20 mg of zinc or a placebo suspension orally every day for 2 weeks. The primary outcome was the incidence of diarrhea per child-year. All analyses were done by intention-to-treat.

RESULTS:

A total of 134 infants in the zinc and 124 in the placebo groups were assessed for the incidence of diarrhea. There was a 39% reduction (crude incident rate ratio [IRR] 0.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.53-0.71) in episodes of diarrhea, 39% (adjusted IRR 0.61, 95% CI 0.54-0.69) in the total number of days that a child suffered from diarrhea, and reduction of 36% in duration per episode of diarrhea (IRR 0.64, 95% CI 0.56-0.74) during the 5 months of follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS:

Short-course prophylactic zinc supplementation for 2 weeks may reduce diarrhea morbidity in infants of 6 to 11 months for up to 5 months, in populations with high prevalence of wasting and stunting.

• Authors: Akash Malik, Davendra K Taneja, Niveditha Devasenapathy, K Rajeshwari
• Journal: Pediatrics (Pediatrics) Vol. 132 Issue 1 Pg. e46-52 (Jul 2013) ISSN: 1098-4275 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 23733798 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Multicenter Study, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Zinc Sulfate

Topics

• Administration, Oral
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Developing Countries
• Diarrhea, Infantile (drug therapy, epidemiology)
• Double-Blind Method
• Emigrants and Immigrants
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• India
• Infant
• Male
• Patient Selection
• Secondary Prevention
• Urban Population
• Zinc Sulfate (administration & dosage, adverse effects)