A third of the hospital admissions in developing countries are due to diarrhea related diseases, with 17% mortality mostly due to dehydration, prolongation of acute diarrhea and its complications Objectives: To identify baseline risk factors for prolonged diarrheal duration and subsequent complications in 808 children aged 6 to 59 months of acute diarrhea who participated in a micronutrient clinical trial in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: The adjusted odds ratio or incidence risk ratios (IRR) of the baseline variables for prolongation of diarrheal duration (cox proportional hazard model), diarrhea > 7 days (multiple logistic regression), severe dehydration experienced after hospitalization (poisson regression models) was estimated. Results: Younger age (OR 1.02, 95%CI 1.01, 1.03, p< 0.001), fever (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.02-1.19, p=0.02), dehydration (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.10-1.59, p=0.003), dysentery (OR 1.41 95% CI 1.09-1.82, p=0.008), those who received medications (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.03-1.39, p=0.02), and weight for age Z score 7 days was associated with younger age (OR 1.08 , 95% CI 1.03-1.14, p=0.003), female child (OR 2.33, 95% CI 1.19-4.55, p=0.013) , diarrheal duration before enrolment (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.04-1.09, p<0.001), fever (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.23-2.49, p=0.002) and the weight for age Z score Ind J Pediatr: In Press.

By: Patel AB, Ronithung O, Badhoniya N, Dibley MJ

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