Abstract

ZEA, Alonso  and  OCHOA, Theresa. Diarrhea and micronutrients. Rev Med Hered [online]. 2013, vol.24, n.1, pp.62-67. ISSN 1018-130X.

Diarrhea continues to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality in young children. Although the use of oral rehydration solutions has decrease the mortality associated with dehydration, there still the need of effective strategies to decrease the morbidity associated with this disease. Zinc and vitamin A are two micronutrients that have shown to be effective for the treatment and prevention of diarrhea in children. Currently WHO recommends the use of zinc for the treatment of diarrhea in children in developing countries, because it decreases the duration and severity of the diarrhea episode, the risk of persistent diarrhea and diarrhea recurrence in the next 2 to 3 months. Vitamin A has been use prophylactically for many years and is one the most important interventions for infant mortality reduction. It has been demonstrated that vitamin A decreases diarrhea mortality and incidence. However, the therapeutic use of this vitamin has not been well studied since the success of its prophylactic use has limited its evaluation.

Keywords : Zinc; vitamin A; children.

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