Comparison of zinc-probiotic combination therapy to zinc therapy alone in reducing the severity of acute diarrhea

Background Although the incidence of diarrhea in Indonesia has declined in the last five years, the mortality rate in children under five years old is still high. Therefore, appropriate and comprehensive management of diarrhea is essential. There have been many studies on the role of zinc therapy and probiotic therapy in reducing the severity of acute diarrhea, but not many studies have compared the use of a combination of the two therapies tozinc therapy alone.Objective To compare the efficacy of zinc-probiotic combination therapy to zinc alone in reducing the severity of acute diarrhea.Methods We conducted a randomized, open-label, controlled trial from July 2009 to January 2010 in Adam Malik Hospital and Pirngadi Hospital, Medan. Children aged between 1 month and 5 years who met the criteria were divided into two groups. Group I received zinc sulphate (aged