AbstractObjective: To study the prescription pattern for acute diarrheal disease in children between 6 months to 5 years. Study design: Cross sectional study; Study setting: Diarrhoea Treatment Unit in a tertiary care hospital in Central Kerala; Study participants: Patients who presented to the Department of Pediatrics with ADD, referred from the periphery, between ages of 6 months to 5 years; Inclusion criteria: All patients presented to the Department of Pediatrics with ADD who were referred from the periphery during the period December 2017 to May 2018; Exclusion criteria: Incomplete prescription details, children with dysentery and other coexisting major illness; Results: Out of 132 children ORS, Zinc and Antibiotics were used in 70.5%, 59% and 51.5% respectively. The use of IVF (17%), pre/probiotics (8.1%) and antisecretory drugs (6.8%) were less. Good percentage of mothers (61%) used home available fluids. Conclusion: We have to still improve use of ORS and Zinc in ADD. Irrational use of Antibiotics shoud be discouraged.
Keywords: Acute Diarrheal disease; Prescription pattern; ORS; Zinc.