Infant formula and diarrhea

Infants with diarrhea fed soy-based formula with sucrose had significantly lower stool output and shorter duration of diarrhea than infants fed soy-based formula with lactose, Ibrahim Fayad, MD, Cairo University, et al., conclude in a study published in the July Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Researchers randomized 200 male infants with diarrhea and dehydration to receive one of the two formulas after treatment with oral rehydration solution, of which 172 finished the protocol. "If soy-based formula is used during a diarrheal episode, a lactose-free formula is preferred," the study concludes. Archives editor Catherine DeAngelis, MD, says it "looks like there's no need for anyone to manufacture a soy-based formula with lactose." Wyeth-Ayerst Nutritionals supported the study; the firm's Nursoy liquid (sucrose) and powder (lactose) formulas were used in the trial