Sorghum-based oral rehydration solution in the treatment of acute diarrhoea

Sixty four children between 2.5 months and 5 years of age were randomly treated in a country hospital in Jos, Nigeria, with either the oral rehydration solution (ORS) as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) or a cereal-based electrolyte solution, containing 60 g/l sorghum powder. Both groups were well comparable in many aspects, except for the nutritional status and the use of ORS before admission. In both aspects the sorghum-ORS group was at a disadvantage. During treatment there were no significant differences between the two groups in amount of fluid used, number of stools and duration of diarrhoea. Though weight gain in the two treatment groups was not significantly different, median weight gain in the sorghum-ORS group was 295 g, vs 155 in the WHO-ORS group. Seven children died, two (6%) in the sorghum-ORS group and five (17%) in the WHO-ORS group. Sorghum-ORS was well accepted and tolerated. This study suggests that sorghum-ORS can safely be used as an alternative in the treatment of diarrhoea.