[Efficacy of a rice-based beverage for the management of dehydration caused by acute diarrhea in children]. / Eficacia de una bebida a base de arroz en el manejo de la deshidratación por diarrea aguda en niños.

We tested the clinical efficacy of a rice-powder gruel (RPG) as an oral rehydration solution in a randomized clinical trial, comparing it with oral rehydration salts (ORS) prepared as recommended by WHO. RPG was prepared as mothers do it in a rural area, according to previous ethnographic work. RPG has sugar but no sodium or other electrolytes. Seventy patients under 5 years old with mild to moderate dehydration due to acute diarrhea were included in the trial. Ninety-two percent of children were successfully rehydrated with RPG and 91% of children were successfully rehydrated with ORS. Patients in the study group required less time to rehydrate and presented a reduction in fecal output as compared with the control group. We propose that the rice-powder gruel should find its place as a first line of treatment at the home level, when oral rehydration salts are not available, to prevent dehydration in the child affected with acute diarrhea, and that its use should be closely linked to no suspension or rapid reintroduction of oral feeding to provide an external source of sodium and other nutrients.