الفهرس 
Acute diarrheaOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Diarrhea occurs when stools contain more water than normal and are loose or watery. In many regions, diarrhea is defined as three or more loose or watery stools in a 24-hour period. Children between the ages of 6 months and 2 years often have diarrhea.
In 2015, diarrheal disease caused an estimated 688 million illnesses and 499,000 deaths worldwide among children younger than 5 years. Although mortality rates have fallen during the past three decades, improvement has lagged in Africa and South Asia where 90% of diarrheal deaths occur.
In approximately 80% of children, the causative agent is rotavirus while in 20% of children, E. coli is responsible for acute childhood diarrhea. Dehydration is the most common cause of death in acute diarrhea.
Treatment of diarrhea basically consists of replacing lost fluids by means of oral rehydration solution (ORS). The use of ORS in diarrhea reduces the rate of mortality and morbidity of the disease but does not lead to a decrease in the duration of diarrhea and its intensity.
Recently there are clinical studies and guidelines proposed some complementary therapies for acute infectious diarrhea, such as zinc and probiotics in addition to the mainstay treatment with oral rehydration solution. The beneficial effects of zinc supplementation have been shown in children aged >6 months in developing countries.
Zinc is necessary for cell division and growth, wound healing, and functioning of the immune system. It is a particularly important micronutrient in infants and growing children, about 50% of excretion of zinc occurs through the gastrointestinal tract and this is increased in diarrhea.
WHO and UNICEF recommended the use of zinc for 14 days as an adjunct therapy along with low osmolality oral rehydration solution (ORS) to decrease diarrheal deaths.
There are several mechanisms of action of zinc on acute diarrhea, some of which are specific to the gastrointestinal system: Zinc restores mucosal barrier integrity and enterocyte brush border enzyme activity, it promotes the production of antibodies and circulating lymphocytes against intestinal pathogens, and has a direct effect on ion channels, acting as a potassium channel blocker of adenosine 3-5-cyclic monophosphate-mediated chlorine secretion.
The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of oral zinc supplementation in different doses on reduction of duration and severity of acute diarrhea in infants and children.
This Randomized controlled clinical trial was carried out on 80 infants and children suffering from acute diarrhea patients that were divided into four equal groups:
• group 1: included 20 patients with acute diarrhea who received oral zinc supplementation in a dose of 20 mg/day for 14 days.
• group 2: included 20 patients with acute diarrhea who received oral zinc supplementation in a dose of 40 mg/day for 14 days.
• group 3: included 20 patients with acute diarrhea who received oral zinc supplementation in a dose of 60 mg/day for 14 days.
• group 4: included 20 patients with acute diarrhea who did not receive any zinc supplementation.
All studied children were subjected to the following: full history taking, clinical examination and laboratory investigations.