Comparison of sucrose with glucose in oral therapy of infant diarrhoea

Abstract

In a randomised double-blind trial, 51 5--10% dehydrated infants were rehydrated with oral electrolyte solutions containing sucrose or glucose. Most infants in both groups were successfully rehydrated, but the sucrose solution produced a slower correction of electrolyte abnormalities and a higher percentage of patients who needed more than 24 h of therapy. Where there is adequate knowledge of the oral therapy method sucrose can substitute for glucose in many cases; where there is a choice glucose is recommended.

PIP: 51 infants aged 3 to 12 months with dehydration due to acute watery diarrhea were randomly assigned to either the glucose or sucrose oral therapy group on admission to the hospital. Oral rehydration and maintenance without any intravenous fluids was successful in 100% and 92% of patients in the glucose and sucrose groups respectively, as evidenced by the subjects' weight gain, fall in plasma proteins and hematocrit, and disappearance of clinical signs of dehydration. There was a greater improvement in mean HC03 in the glucose group than in the sucrose group. Both groups exhibited decline in mean serum osmolarity. The 2 oral treatment failures in the sucrose group occurred in patients who could not absorb the solutions adequately. This study shows that oral therapy with sucrose is less efficient than oral therapy with glucose. However, in areas where only sucrose is available and where knowledge and means of using oral therapy exist, the oral sucrose solution can be used to treat most infants with diarrhea and 5 to 10% dehydration.