Rice-based Oral Rehydration Solution: A Controlled Trial in Nepal

Abstract

The efficacy of rice-based (50 g/l) oral rehydration solution (ORS) was compared with standard glucose ORS in a randomized controlled trial in 148 children under 5 years of age, suffering from acute watery diarrhoea leading to moderate and severe dehydration. The mean ORS intake in the two groups of children were 141.6 and 205.2 ml/kg/24 hours, for rice ORS and glucose ORS, respectively (P < 0.001). The mean number of diarrhoeal stools in the first 24 hours in children of the rice ORS group was less when compared with the glucose ORS group (5.4 and 6.8/24 hours, respectively; P < 0.001). This study suggests that rice ORS is a better alternative to standard glucose ORS in the management of diarrhoeal diseases in children.