High doses of Antisecretory Factor stop diarrhea fast without recurrence for six weeks post treatment.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Diarrheal illnesses in young children cause morbidity and preventable deaths in developing countries. We evaluated two high doses of Salovum® [Antisecretory Factor] to treat diarrhea in young children and followed up for recurrence 6 weeks post treatment. METHODS: Forty children, 6-24 months old, admitted with acute diarrhea, to the Outpatient Department of Children's Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan were selected. The patients were randomly allocated to either Group A given 2 sachets, or to Group B, given 4 sachets. Each sachet contained 4gram of Salovum® and was mixed with Oral Rehydration Salt solution. This mixture was administered perorally within the first 30min of treatment. The trained nursing staff observed them for number of stools and consistency over every half hour for a total of 4hours. Follow up for 6 weeks was done daily by telephone, or visits by the mothers. The results demonstrate that Salovum provides a protective effect irrespective of the diarrhea causes. RESULTS: Group B, given 4 sachets of Salovum® showed improved fecal consistency in 80% of the children compared to 50% in Group A within 30minutes of treatment, p=0.004. The number of diarrheal stools decreased over this time from seven to one/two over 4hours in the two groups [p=0.234]. None of the children showed a recurrence of diarrhea over the follow up period. CONCLUSION: Peroral high doses of Salovum® rapidly and safely counteract diarrhea in children followed by a diarrhea-free period of 6 weeks.