RESUMO
Objective: To determine the decrease in mean duration of diarrhea and normalization of stool consistency by smectite in children with acute gastroenteritis
Methods: A total of 300 patient children aged 1-12 years old fulfilling inclusion criteria were sorted in two groups; 150 cases in each group. Four parameters were considered, i] Age distribution, ii] Gender distribution, iii] Duration of normalization of stool consistency and iv] Duration of diarrhea
Results: Age distribution was 56% [n=84] in Group-1 and 51. 33% [n=77] in Group-2 were between 0.5-6 years of age while 44% [n=66] in Group-1 and 48.67% [n=73] were between 7-12 years of age, mean+sd was calculated as 6.04+3.49 and 6.48+3.66 years respectively, Gender distribution was 60.67% [n=91] in Group=1 and 62.67% [n=94] in Group 2 were male while 39.33% [n=59] in Group-1 and 37.33% [n=56] in Group-2 were females. Duration of normalization of stools consistency was 44.24+2.63 hours in Group-1 and 71.56+2.48 hours in Group-2 was recorded, p value was calculated as 0.0001 which shows a significant difference between the two groups. Duration of diarrhea was recorded as60.58+3.70 hours in Group-1 and 88.76+4.02 hours in Group-2, p value was calculated as 0.0001 which shows a significant difference between the two groups
Conclusion: We concluded that administration of diosmectite in children with acute gastroenteritis shows a significant efficacy as compared to placebo with regards to mean duration of diarrhea and normalization of consistency of stools