Treating diarrhoea. Children deserve special attention [letter]

Gorbachs editorial on drug treatment for diarrhea concerns adults. However the burden of diarrhea-related morbidity and mortality in both developed and developing countries falls on children. An analysis of hospital admissions for diarrhea in Tayside Scotland during 1985-94 revealed rates of 6.5/1000 a year for children under 5 years of age compared with only 0.6/1000 for adults. In children for whom most diarrhea is due to rotavirus oral rehydration and not drugs is the preferred treatment. A review of all prescriptions provided by Tayside general practitioners in 1994 indicated oral rehydration mixtures were the most commonly prescribed treatment for children. However drugs such as Kaolin with no proven efficacy and loperamide sometimes fatal in children were also prescribed.