Early re-feeding in the management of acute diarrhoea in infants of 0-1 year of age

We compared early versus late re-feeding in the management of acute diarrhoea in the first year of life. In the study group (73 patients) breast feeding was resumed or early re-feeding was performed in non-breast-fed infants, so that the feeding regimen used prior to the onset of the disease was reached within 2-3 days. In the control group (49 patients) late re-feeding was performed so that the infants returned to their original feeding pattern after 4-6 days. There were no significant differences between the two groups in the number of stools and stool output per day, or in the duration of the disease. No weight gain or loss during the diet was noted more frequently in the late re-feeding group (67.2% versus 23.4%). This study confirms the favourable effect on body weight of early re-feeding in the management of acute diarrhoea. Acute diarrhoea in infants, early re-feeding