Carbohydrate intolerance in infants with acute diarrhoea and its complications

Types of Special Infant Formulas Marketed in Korea and Their Indications

Infant formula is classified into standard cow's milk-based and special formulas. This review aimed at summarizing the types of special milk formulas currently sold in Korea, and the appropriate indications for the use of these formulas; lactose free formula, soy-based formula, protein hydrolysate formula, amino acid-based formula, preterm formula, medium chain triglyceride formula, low-phosphorus formula, protein-energy-enriched formula, and formulas for inborn errors of metabolism.

Lactose feeding during persistent diarrhoea

Lactose intolerance is a recognized complication of some episodes of diarrhoea. Whereas it is of clinical importance in relatively few children with acute diarrhoea it seems to be a more common problem in children presenting with persistent diarrhoea, especially in malnourished children with severe diarrhoea. We describe a recent study which also demonstrated adverse clinical and nutritional consequences in the majority of children with mild but persistent diarrhoea consuming 6 g lactose/kg body weight/d. It is desirable to identify these children who need to reduce their lactose intake in order to limit unnecessary dietary changes which are expensive to implement and/or nutritionally disadvantageous. Admission clinical characteristics were analyzed for their ability to predict clinical outcome in a group of 33 children with persistent diarrhoea taking a lactose-containing diet. The results of tests of stool reducing substances and a lactose breath hydrogen test (LHBT) were analyzed in the same group whose clinical management had been independent of the test results. Eighty-nine percent of children who deteriorated had one of the following characteristics: age < 12 months, weight-for-height less than -2 SD below NCHS norms or fever > 37 degrees C. Children who unequivocally improved while continuing to take lactose could not be selected without the risk of including children who deteriorated. Neither tests of stool reducing substances nor the LBHT improved the predictive value of simple clinical parameters.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The response to dietary treatment of patients with chronic post-infectious diarrhea and lactose intolerance

The response to dietary treatment of patients with chronic post-infectious diarrhea and lactose intolerance was prospectively studied in 29 infants less than 1 year of age. All had gastroenteritis with diarrhea which persisted for more than 3 weeks. In the hospital, diarrhea continued and lactose intolerance was documented while being fed half-strength cow's milk formula. They were given dietary treatment with one of three formulas used for treatment of diarrhea in infancy. Improvement of diarrhea was more frequently achieved with Pregestimil when given as the initial therapy than with the other two formulas. With Pregestimil nine of 10 patients improved whereas only four of nine infants fed Portagen and one of 10 patients initially treated with soy formula improved. Pregestimil was also effective in three of five patients who initially failed to improve with Portagen and in four of eight patients tried with soy formula with or without carbohydrate. Additionally, in the patients who improved, recovery was more rapidly achieved with Pregestimil than with the other two formulas. Formula failures were due to intolerance to glucose polymers in three patients, possibly to protein in seven infants, and an intolerance to all nutrients in five patients. The improvement of the diarrhea was slower in patients who had evidence of colitis in rectal biopsies regardless of the dietary treatment given, but was not correlated with other variables, i.e., etiology of diarrhea, jejunal histology, or duration of diarrhea prior to treatment. However, as a group, the patients who failed to respond to Pregestimil were younger (less than 3 months of age), had more formula changes and associated infections, and were given more antibiotics; they also had more prolonged diarrhea before treatment and more severe jejunal mucosal lesions and jejunal bacterial overgrowth. The data suggests that Pregestimil seems to be the most effective formula for the treatment of infants with chronic post-infectious diarrhea and lactose intolerance.

Cows' milk protein-sensitive enteropathy: an important contributing cause of secondary sugar intolerance in young infants with acute infective enteritis

The effect of cows' milk protein (CMP) on the mucosal disaccharidases was investigated in 23 infants with acute infective enteritis. Jejunal biopsies performed before and after cows' milk provocation were subjected to histological examination and to mucosal disaccharidase enzyme (lactase, sucrase, and maltase) analyses. After milk challenge, changes in mucosal histology were observed in 18 infants, in 17 of them the levels of all 3 mucosal disaccharidases were much reduced. 10 of these infants developed diarrhoea and, in 6, the stools were positive for reducing sugar. It is concluded that CMP has a deleterious effect on the jejunal mucosa of young infants recovering from infective enteritis, so that in the management of young infants with sugar intolerance secondary to infective enteritis, CMP and lactose should be excluded from the diet.

Persistent post-enteritis diarrhoea

Clinical, biochemical, and gastroenterological data have been examined im 48 patients in two age groups, one under 12 months of age, the other between 12 and 30 months with persistent post-enteritis diarrhoea. In these patients, the illness consisted of chronic diarrhoea which followed acute enteritis. It brought about a mild malabsorption syndrome with impairment of growth, particularly in infants under one year of age. Chronic inflammation with mucosal damage due to alteration of the intestinal microflora by inappropriate diets and therapy seemed to be the cause of persistent diarrhoea in these patients.