OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of zinc supplementation in patients with diarrheal illnesses. Study Design: Quasi Experimental study. Setting: The study was conducted at the pediatrics department of Madina Teaching Hospital, Sargodha road, Faisalabad, Period: 6 months period from November 2008 to April 2009. Material and Methods: Two hundred children suffering from diarrhea with mild to moderate dehydration were included in the study and divided into two groups, A and B. Group A was given

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... inc supplementation along with ORS and adequate nutrition according to age. In group B 100 children were taken as control to whom only ORS and adequate nutrition for age was given. Results: Baseline clinical parameters were comparable in both groups at admission. The effect observed on stool consistency was more marked in 72 hours i.e. 71% patients were improved in group A versus 40% in group B, as compared to stool frequency in 72 hours i.e. 56% in group A versus 39% in group B. Although in 7 days, 99% patients showed improvement in stool consistency in group A,70% in group B(p value 0.037) and stool frequency showed improvement of 96% in group A as compared to 77% in group B(p value 0.037). Duration of hospital stay on the average was about 2 days less in case of zinc supplemented group as compared to control group. Conclusion: Zinc supplementation reduced the duration and severity of mild to moderate diarrheal illness and treatment was well tolerated with no significant side effects.