Comparison of efficacy of a glucose/glycine/glycylglycine electrolyte solution versus the standard WHO/ORS in diarrheic dehydrated children

Abstract

It was hypothesized that a mixture of glucose and amino acids enhances sodium and water absorption and therefore diminishes the volume of oral rehydration solution, stool output, and duration of diarrhea. To investigate this hypothesis, the efficacies of two oral rehydration solutions (ORS) were compared, one containing (mmol/L): Na+ 90, K+ 20, Cl- 80, citrate 10, glucose 67, glycine 53, and glycylglycine 30, yielding an osmolality of 350 mosmol/kg H2O, and the other, the standard ORS recommended by the World Health Organization, containing the same electrolyte concentrations and only glucose 110 mmol/L, yielding 310 mosmol/kg H2O. The study group comprised 31 infants and small children for group A (receiving solution A, the glucose/glycine/glycylglycine-based ORS) and 31 patients for group B (receiving solution B, the standard WHO/ORS). There were no significant differences between the groups in age, fluid loss, or dehydration, or between the groups with respect to clinical outcome, mean time to achieve rehydration, mean percent body weight gain, and serum electrolyte composition. The only statistically significant difference was the mean time between admission and the last diarrheic stool. The glycylglycine/glycine/glucose electrolyte solution was found to be suitable for rehydration, but not to have an advantage over the standard WHO/ORS.

PIP: A study was carried out on 62 male infant children, aged 3-24 months in San Jose, Puerto Rico. The purpose of the study was to discover if a mixture of glucose and amino acids enhances sodium and water absorption, thereby diminishing the volume of oral rehydration solution, stool output and duration of diarrhea. To investigate this hypothesis, the efficacies of two oral rehydration solutions (ORT) were compared: the ORT recommended by WHO (mmol/L) Na + 90, K + 20, C1- 80 Citrate 10, Glucose 110, yielding an osmolality of 310 (mosmol/kg H20) and one containing (mmol/L): Na+ 90, K+ 20, C1-80, Citrate 10, Glucose 67, Glycine 53, Glycylglycine 30, and yielding an osmolality of 350 (mosmol/kg H2)). Results are as follows: the infants were divided into two groups - A and B - with each consisting of 31 males per group; group A received the glycine based solution while group B received the WHO/ORS. There was no significant difference in: the mean age of the patients, mean time and mean number of vomiting, duration of diarrhea, number of stool motions, and duration of fever before admission between the two groups. The glycylglycine/glycine/ glucose electrolyte solution was found to be suitable for rehydration, but is not superior to the standard WHO/ORS. The glycine solution resulted in shortening the duration of diarrheal illness, but failed to decrease the ingested amount of ORS as well as the stool output volume.