Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy of a local solution based on "pain de singe", fruit of baobab (Adansonia digitata), and the WHO standard solution in the treatment of children with acute diarrhea and resulting mild to moderate dehydration.
Methodology: A prospective clinical trial comparing the local solution to the standard WHO solution was conducted; in children of 6 months or older (mean age = 16.6 +/- 8.8 months), 79 received the WHO solution and 82 the local solution, and were followed for a period ranging from 4 to 48 hours. Evolution of diarrhea and weight gain were evaluated as variables of interest.
Results: WHO solution was found to be superior, but not statistically significant in term of duration of diarrhea and weight gain.
Discussion: The pain de singe based solution presents additional advantages: nutritional, economic and cultural; we recommend it to promote use of TRO at home.