Effects of unrestricted diet on mild infantile diarrhea. A practice-based study
P. A. Margolis, T. Litteer, N. Hare and M. Pichichero
Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester NY School of Medicine.
Dietary restriction in cases of mild infantile diarrhea is often advocated
but has not been shown to be effective. We enrolled 176 healthy infants
less than 1 year of age in a randomized controlled trial to determine the
effects of diet on the course of mild diarrhea. When diarrhea occurred (56
episodes), infants were randomly assigned to a treatment diet (24 hours of
electrolyte solution then dilute soy formula, dilute cow's milk formula, or
undiluted soy formula) or their usual formula. Parents recorded daily
weights, stool losses, and oral intake. The difference in effects of
unrestricted and treatment diets was small and not clinically significant.
Patients on an unrestricted diet averaged 0.7 fewer days of diarrhea (95%
confidence interval [CI], -1.43 to 0.02), 5.0 fewer total stools (95% CI,
-10.26 to 0.33), and 1% less weight loss (95% CI, 2% to -1%) compared with
those receiving a treatment diet. Treatment failures were similar in both
groups. An unrestricted diet does not appear to affect the course or
symptoms of mild diarrhea.
