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A randomised, double-blind clinical trial of a maltodextrin containing oral rehydration solution in acute infantile
Insights
Maltodextrin oral rehydration salts (ORS) showed no advantage over glucose-based ORS in treating acute diarrhea and mild to moderate dehydration in children. Both solutions effectively managed dehydration symptoms without significant differences in recovery.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Gastroenterology
- Public Health
Background:
- Acute diarrhea is a leading cause of dehydration in children worldwide.
- Oral rehydration salts (ORS) are crucial for managing dehydration.
- Alternative carbohydrate sources in ORS are being explored for improved efficacy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of maltodextrin-based ORS with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended glucose-based ORS.
- To evaluate treatment outcomes in children with acute diarrhea and mild to moderate dehydration.
Main Methods:
- A double-blind, randomized study involving 69 children aged 4-36 months with acute diarrhea.
- Children received either maltodextrin ORS or WHO-recommended glucose ORS.
- Clinical characteristics, stool output, ORS intake, duration of recovery, hematocrit, and serum electrolytes were assessed.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were observed in stool output, ORS intake, or duration of recovery between the maltodextrin and glucose ORS groups.
- Hematocrit and serum electrolyte levels at 24 hours post-treatment were similar in both groups.
- The study found no statistically significant advantage of maltodextrin ORS over glucose ORS.
Conclusions:
- Maltodextrin-based ORS (50 g/l) does not offer an advantage over WHO-recommended glucose-ORS for treating mild to moderate dehydration in children with acute diarrhea.
- Glucose remains a suitable carbohydrate source in ORS for pediatric rehydration therapy.
- Further research may explore different concentrations or combinations for potential benefits.
Abstract:
We compared the efficacy of a maltodextrin containing oral rehydration salts (ORS) solution with that of the WHO recommended glucose-ORS solution in a double blind randomized study of treating 69 children (33 in experimental group; 36 in control group) aged 4-36 months with acute diarrhoea causing mild to moderate dehydration. Both the groups of children were similar in initial clinical characteristics and received only ORS solutions. No significant differences in stool output (median 88.0, range 34-320 g/kg body wt. in experiment vs 75.0, 25-410 g/kg in control), intake of ORS solution (125.0, 58-360 ml/kg body wt. vs 154, 130-250 ml/kg), and duration of recovery from diarrhoea (2.0 d, range 1-6 vs 2.0 d, 1-9) were found between the groups. The haematocrit and serum electrolyte values in the two groups 24 hours after starting treatment were also similar. The results suggest that the ORS containing maltodextrin (50 g/l) in place of glucose has no advantage over WHO-ORS in correcting mild to moderate dehydration of children with acute diarrhoea.