Does an L-glutamine-containing, glucose-free, oral rehydration solution reduce stool output and time to rehydrate in children with acute diarrhoea? A double-blind randomized clinical trial

Abstract

This study assessed whether an oral rehydration solution (ORS) in which glucose is replaced by L-glutamine (L-glutamine ORS) is more effective than the standard glucose-based rehydration solution recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO-ORS) in reducing the stool volume and time to rehydrate in acute diarrhoea. In a double-blind, randomized controlled trial in a Mexican hospital, 147 dehydrated children, aged 1-60 month(s), were assigned either to the WHO-ORS (74 children), or to the L-glutamine ORS (73 children) and followed until successful rehydration. There were no significant differences between the groups in stool output during the first four hours, time to successful rehydration, volume of ORS required for rehydration, urinary output, and vomiting. This was independent of rotavirus-associated infection. An L-glutamine-containing glucose-free ORS seems not to offer greater clinical benefit than the standard WHO-ORS in mildly-to-moderately-dehydrated children with acute non-cholera diarrhoea.