Controlled clinical trial of using a soluble mixture of carob bean, sorghum and rice flour in the treatment of acute infantile diarrhea

ABSTRACT

The standard WHO oral rehydration solution [ORS] provides simple and effective approach to rehydration but it does not has anti-diarrhea effect, it does not reduce the stool volume or the duration or the severity of diarrhea. The present study is a comparative one aiming to evaluate the efficacy of using a soluble mixture of carob bean juice, sorghum, and rice flour in treatment of acute diarrhea among infants and young children in comparison with the standard WHO ORS. The study included 1000 children, with an age range from 6 to 36 months, who presented by acute watery diarrhea and some dehydration according to WHO classification. They were randomly divided into two groups group A [the study group] included 80 patients and group B [the control group] included 20 patients. The patients of the study group were treated with a soluble mixture of carob bean juice, sorghum, and rice flour plus ORS while the patients of the control group were treated with ORS only. The study revealed that the study group, compared with the control group, had a significant reduction of diarrhea frequency [p<0, 001], a significant reduction in daily fluid intake [p<0, 001], and a significant reduction in the hours after which well formed stool appeared [p<0, 003]. There were no significant differences between the daily weight gain and the total duration of diarrhea! episode in both groups [p <0, 1 and <0, 1]