DOUBLE-BLIND COMPARISON OF A PREPARATION OF PECTIN CHAMOMILE EXTRACT AND PLACEBO IN CHILDREN WITH DIARRHEA/

In a prospective, double-blind, randomised, multicentre, parallel grou p study, children (6 months to 5.5 years of age) with acute, non-compl icated diarrhea received either a preparation containing apple pectin and chamomile extract (Diarrhoesan(R) n = 39) or placebo (n = 40) in a ddition to the usual rehydration and realimentation diet. At the end o i three days of treatment, the diarrhea had ended significantly (p < 0 .05) more frequently in the pectin/chamomile (33/39) than in the place bo group (23/40). Pectin/chamomile reduced the duration of diarrhea si gnificantly (p < 0.05) by at least 5.2 h. The parents documented the w ell-being in a diary twice daily; in contrast to placebo, a trend of c ontinuous improvement was observed in the pectin/chamomile group. The parents expressed their contentment more frequently (82%) with pectin/ chamomile than with placebo (60%, not significant). There were no furt her differences between the treatment groups.