PEDIATRICS Vol. 67 No. 1 January 1981, pp. 79-83
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Glucose vs Sucrose in Oral Rehydration Solutions for Infants and Young Children with Rotavirus-Associated Diarrhea

Robert E. Black MD, MPH1, Michael H. Merson MD1, Philip R. Taylor MD1, Robert H. Yolken MD1, Md. Yunus MBBS1, A.R.M.A Alim BS1, and David A. Sack MD1

1 International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (formerly Cholera Research Laboratory), Dacca, Bangladesh, Bureau of Epidemiology, Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland, and Division of Geographic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore

The use of oral rehydration solutions containing essential electrolytes and either glucose or sucrose of equal osmolality was compared in a double-blind sequential trial of 784 children with rotavirus-associated diarrhea treated at a center in rural Bangladesh. The oral fluid failure rate was 11.5% for the sucrose-containing solution group and 7.3% for the glucose-containing group (P = NS). Vomiting was a significantly more common cause of failure for the group treated with sucrose-containing oral rehydration solution and was associated with an increased rate of intake of the sweeter sucrose-containing solution. The purging rate was not different for the two groups. The oral fluid failure rates for children in the most underweight category (<60% of expected weight for age) were not different from those for other groups, although, as assessed by purging rate and initial dehydration, the stool losses of members of this group constituted a greater proportion of their body weight. Glucose is the preferred carbohydrate for oral electrolyte solutions, although sucrose can be substituted with only minimum loss of efficacy.

Submitted on April 4, 1980
Accepted on May 12, 1980