Comparison of the effectiveness of zinc supplementation in tablets form with that of the suspension form in the treatment of acute diarrhoea

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of zinc supplementation in tablet form with that of the suspension form in the treatment of acute diarrhoea. METHODS: A comparative study was carried out at the Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad, Pakistan from October 2008 to April 2009, and comprised children aged6-24 months suffering from acute diarrhoea. The patients were divided into two groups on the basis of even and odd numbers. Group A (even numbers) received dispersible zinc tablets, and group B (odd numbers) received zinc suspension. The patients were admitted for 3 days and improvement was checked at the end of 3rd day in terms of decrease in the frequency of stools/day. SPSS 15 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: The 88 patients were divided into two groups of 44(50%) each. Overall, 49(55.7%) patients were male and 39(44.3%) were female. At the end of the 3rd day 51(58%) patients improved, while 37(42%) did not. In the zinc tablet group, improvement was in 32(72%) patients compared to 19(43%) in the zinc suspension group (p<0.05).diarrhoea. CONCLUSIONS: The results of tablets preparation were clinically significant in reducing the duration and severity of diarrhoea.