Recommended daily dose of zinc for management of diarrhea in children (as per WHO):

Appeared in: NORCET-9 Mains

Explanation

The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF recommend an age-specific dosage for zinc supplementation in acute childhood diarrhea.
For infants younger than 6 months, the recommended daily dose is 10 mg of elemental zinc.
For children aged 6 months to 5 years, the recommended daily dose is 20 mg of elemental zinc.
This treatment should be administered for a full 10-14 day course to reduce the current episode's severity and prevent future occurrences.

Option B: A dose of 5 mg per day is sub-therapeutic and considered too low to effectively manage diarrhea or replenish zinc stores in children of any age.
Option C: This option fails to account for the age-based dosing recommendation. A single dose for all children is not appropriate; it would overdose younger infants and underdose older children.
Option D: A dose of 25 mg per day is higher than the WHO recommendation of 20 mg for children over 6 months. Higher doses do not provide additional benefit and increase the risk of adverse effects, particularly vomiting.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Knowing WHO guidelines for zinc supplementation in childhood diarrhea helps nurses interpret findings accurately and avoid errors in routine assessment, medication administration, and patient teaching.
Zinc supplementation, along with Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS), is a cornerstone of managing acute diarrhea in children, significantly reducing morbidity and mortality.
Nurses must educate caregivers on the importance of completing the full 14-day course of zinc, even if the child's diarrhea resolves sooner, to ensure replenishment of zinc stores and prevention of future episodes.
Nursing intervention includes advising caregivers to administer zinc after a feed to minimize vomiting. If the child vomits within 30 minutes of the dose, the dose should be repeated.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the core of the question, which is asking for a specific recommendation ('Recommended daily dose') from a specific authority ('WHO').
This is a factual recall question. Access your knowledge of pediatric treatment guidelines for common illnesses like diarrhea.
Recall that dosage for many pediatric medications is weight or age-dependent. Evaluate the options to see which ones account for this.
Option A provides two different doses for two different age groups, which is a common practice in pediatrics. The other options offer a single dose for all children or a single dose for one group.
Select the option that aligns with the established WHO/UNICEF guidelines for age-specific zinc supplementation.

Concept Tested & Keywords

QGDb3mmQJexnMfMW-G9Pdf

E6 Pharmacology KD Tripathi Essentials 9e Part 3 p. 8-10

E6 Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics(2024) — Volume 1 p. 1791-1793

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Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.