PEDIATRICS Vol. 98 No. 6 December 1996, pp. 1122-1126
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bhatnagar, S.
Right arrow Articles by Shariff, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bhatnagar, S.
Right arrow Articles by Shariff, M.

Efficacy of Milk-based Diets in Persistent Diarrhea: A Randomized, Controlled Trial

Shinjini Bhatnagar DNB, PhD1, Maharaj K. Bhan MD1, Kiran D. Singh MBBS1, Shailendra K. Saxena DCH2, and Malini Shariff MD1

1 The Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
2 Department of Pediatrics, Kasturba Hospital, Darya Ganj, New Delhi, India.

Objective. Previous studies have shown increased stool output when children with persistent diarrhea (PD) received milk as the predominant source of nutrition.

Methods. We evaluated the efficacy of milk given in modest amounts as a part of a mixed diet in children with PD. One hundred sixteen children 3 to 24 months of age with diarrhea for between 14 days and 12 weeks were allocated to milk-based (n = 60) or milk-free (n = 56) cereal dietary regimens. The two diets were isocaloric (86.9 calories/100 g for le9 months; 95.6 cal/100 g for > 9 months) consisting of puffed rice cereal, sugar, and oil differing in only their source of protein, which was either milk or egg white, respectively. An average of 30% of the calories were constituted by milk in the milk-cereal diet. Both diets were offered at the rate of 150 kcal/kg per day. Children receiving milk-cereal consumed an average of 1.9 g/kg lactose per day.

Results. The baseline characteristics in the two groups were similar. Comparable amounts of diet were consumed in both groups. The milk-cereal group did not have higher median (range) stool output (g/kg/h) compared with the milk-free group during a 0- to 48-hour (milk-cereal, 1.7 [0.2 to 8.7]; milk-free, 1.5 [0.1 to 6.6]) or 0- to 120-hour (milk-cereal, 1.6 [0.4 to 7.2]; milk-free, 1.3 [0.1 to 7.6]) period. The percentage of weight gain was similar in the two groups, and there were no significant differences in the duration of diarrhea. Overall, 23 children had treatment failures, 10 (17%) in the milk-cereal and 13 (23.6%) in the milk-free groups.

Conclusions. Our findings suggest that modest intakes of milk are well tolerated as a part of mixed diet during PD.

Key Words: milk • lactose • nutrition • treatment failures • persistent diarrhea

Submitted on November 10, 1995
Accepted on February 20, 1996




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 BMJHome page
S. Bhatnagar and R. Aggarwal
Lactose intolerance
BMJ, June 30, 2007; 334(7608): 1331 - 1332.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
M. B. Heyman and for the Committee on Nutrition
Lactose Intolerance in Infants, Children, and Adolescents
Pediatrics, September 1, 2006; 118(3): 1279 - 1286.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]