Effectiveness of racecadotril in the treatment of acute gastroenteritis

• Published in: Acta pediátrica española Vol. 67; no. 3; p. 117
• Main Authors: Álvarez Calatayud, G, Pinel Simón, G, Taboada Castro, L, Santos Sebastián, M, Rivas Castillo, A, Abunaji, Y, Leralta Fernández, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Madrid Ediciones Mayo 01.03.2009
• Subjects: Clinical outcomes; Diarrhea; Drug therapy; Gastrointestinal diseases; Pediatrics
• ISSN: 0001-6640; 2014-2986

Aim: To assess the effectiveness of combination therapy with oral rehydration solution and racecadotril versus oral rehydration solution as monotherapy in children with acute gastroenteritis. Patients: Patients aged 3 to 36 months attended to in the emergency department with diarrhea (three or more watery stools over the previous 12 hours) of less than 7 days' duration were included if the parents signed a written informed consent form. Patients previously treated with antidiarrheal or antibiotic agents were not enrolled. One hundred forty-eight patients were included (70 in the racecadotril group and 78 in the monotherapy group). Results: Patients treated with combined oral rehydration solution and racecadotril passed a lower number of stools during the first 48 hours of follow-up (p < 0.0001). The duration of their diarrhea and treatment period was also shorter (p < 0.005; p < 0.0001) and the consistency of the stools was better. There were fewer visits to emergency services (p < 0.0001) and hospital admissions within 24 and 48 hours (p < 0.005; p < 0.0001) in patients treated with racecadotril. Conclusions: In children with acute gastroenteritis, racecadotril has been shown to be effective in terms of reducing the number of stools within the first 48 hours and is associated with a shorter disease course and fewer visits to emergency services, as well as hospital admissions. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]