Zinc enhances the efficacy of oral rehydration salts (ORS) by reducing the severity of acute diarrhea without increasing vomiting or decreasing ORS intake, according to a report in the November issue of the Journal of Pediatrics.
“A reduction in episode duration and severity as the result of added zinc may increase the attractiveness of ORS and thereby its use. This is important for public health programs because even after two decades of promotion, ORS is used in less than one third of diarrheal episodes, partly because ORS does not reduce the duration or severity of diarrhea,” write Rajiv Bahl, MBBS, MD, PhD, and colleagues from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.
“Potential concerns with the use of zinc mixed with ORS include reduced acceptance because of taste, increase in vomiting, and lower efficacy of zinc because of suboptimal or variable intakes.” In this double-blind, controlled trial, 1,219 children with acute diarrhea were randomized to one of three groups. The first group received a syrup containing 15 mg of zinc for six- to 11-month-old children or 30 mg of zinc for 12- to 35-month-old children. The second group received zinc premixed with ORS (40 mg/L), and the control group received ORS only.
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