Paediatrica Indonesiana

September 

VOLUME 54

NUMBER 5

Original Article

Folic acid and acute diarrhea in children

Ade Amelia, Atan Baas Sinuhaji, Supriatmo

Abstract
Background Diarrhea has been a health problem in children
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Objective 7RDVVHVVWKHHIIHFWRIIROLFDFLGLQUHGXFLQJWKHVHYHULW\
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Methods 7KLVVWXG\ZDVDVLQJOHEOLQGUDQGRPL]HGFRQWUROWULDO
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goverment clinic in the Secanggang District, Langkat Regency,
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56 children received oral folic acid and 56 children received
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Results 7KHUHZHUHVLJQLILFDQWGLIIHUHQFHVEHWZHHQWKHIROLFDFLG
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Conclusion Oral folic acid is clinically beneficial for reducing the
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[Paediatr Indones. 2014;54:273-9.]
Keywords: folic acid, acute diarrhea, duration of
diarrhea

iarrhea is defined as an increase in volume

or fluidity of stool, changes in consistency,
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Acute diarrhea, the most common form of
diarrheal illness, has an abrupt onset, usually resolves
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nausea, abdominal pain, systemic symptoms, and
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Diarrhea is a major cause of morbidity and
mortality in young children in developing countries,
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mortality rate for children under five suffering from
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diarrhea continues to exact a high toll on children
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study in Denmark confirmed rotavirus as the most
common pathogenic cause of diarrhea in children
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7KLV  VWXG\  ZDV  SUHVHQWHG  DW WKH Kongres Nasional Badan Koordinasi
Gastroenterologi Anak Indonesia (KONAS BKGAI) IV Medan, December

From the Department of Child Health, University of North Sumatera
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Paediatr Indones, Vol. 54, No. 5, September 2014273

Ade Amelia et al: Folic acid and acute diarrhea in children

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diarrhea in infants and children focuses on oral
rehydration therapy to correct dehydration and
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oral rehydration therapy does not reduce the duration
of diarrhea, the demand for effective drugs is high,
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RIDFXWHGLDUUKHD Rotavirus damages the absorptive
cells on the tips of the small intestinal villi, these
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folic acid in reducing the severity of acute diarrhea
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After admission into the study, subjects
frequency and volume of diarrhea, consistency of
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&,

Results
Methods
We conducted a single-blind, randomized controlled
trial in Secanggang District, Langkat Regency, North
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 :H LQFOXGHG DOO FKLOGUHQ DJHG  PRQWKV WR
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dehydration, cholera, prior consumption of folic
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(severe malnutrition, encephalitis, meningitis, sepsis,
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Commitee of the University of North Sumatera
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three or more loose or liquid stools per day (or more
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loose or soft stool consistency becoming normal, and
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history-taking and thorough physical examinations perIRUPHGE\DSK\VLFLDQ,PPHGLDWHO\DIWHUDGPLVVLRQLQWR
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274Paediatr Indones, Vol. 54, No. 5, September 2014

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Ade Amelia et al: Folic acid and acute diarrhea in children

placebo groups starting from the third day of treatment

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treatment, less children in folic acid group experienced
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and it continued to the fifth day of treatment (Table

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Paediatr Indones, Vol. 54, No. 5, September 2014275

Ade Amelia et al: Folic acid and acute diarrhea in children

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Discussion
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Organization (WHO) 2005 Guidelines, but most
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In developing countries, diarrhea is one of the
main causes of morbidity and mortality in children
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younger than 5 years in these countries is associated
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Lack of breastfeeding, inappropriate rehydration
therapy, severe malnutrition, frequent vomiting and
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of associated major infections are recognized risk fac-

tors for the development of dehydration in children

ZLWKGLDUUKHD+RZHYHUIHZVWXGLHVKDYHV\VWHPDWLcally assessed the role of specific microorganisms in
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pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and parasites,
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that caused diarrhea in this study, rotavirus has long
been recognized as a leading cause of acute diarrhea in
young children throughout developing and developed
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** In an outbreak of acute diarrheal disease
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Paediatr Indones, Vol. 54, No. 5, September 2014277

Ade Amelia et al: Folic acid and acute diarrhea in children

oral folic acid significantly decreased the duration

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soluble vitamin, is a simple, inexpensive treatment,
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in children, absorptive cells of the small intestinal
villi are damaged and replaced by migrating epithelial
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epithelial cells by accelerating the normal regeneration
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Folate is a generic term for the vitamin that
functions coenzymmatically in the transfer and
processing of the one of the carbon units for
the remethylation of homocysteine to generate
methionine, the synthesis of thymidylate and
purines and the formation of methyl groups needed
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bioavailability in large part is governed by the extent
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constitute much of naturally-occurring folate in
food, must undergo enzymatic deconjugation in
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is catalyzed primarily by a pteroylpolyglutamate
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monoglutamyl folate occurs via a saturable transport
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processes, findings regarding folate bioavailability
at a certain dosage level may not be predictive of
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that folic acid therapy did not clinically benefit infants
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clear from this study that folic acid had a beneficial
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reduced the frequency, volume and duration of acute
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differing results from those of Ashraf et al7KH%DQ-

278Paediatr Indones, Vol. 54, No. 5, September 2014

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Our study had a different patient population, since
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Because the mean duration of diarrhea from the initial
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given as an adjunct to fluid and electrolyte therapy
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References
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role of anti-emetic medication for gastroenteritis-related
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Paediatr Indones, Vol. 54, No. 5, September 2014279