The dose of Zinc given during diarrhea episode is ......mg for child between 2 m to 6 m and ...... mg for child above 6 m of age given for ...... days?

1. A

   10 mg, 20 mg, 7 days

2. B

   5 mg, 10 mg, 5 days

3. C

   10 mg 20 mg, 14 days

4. D

   20 mg, 50 mg, 14 days

Appeared in: Hariyana-CHO-2021

Explanation

• The World Health Organization (WHO) and IMNCI guidelines recommend a 14-day course of zinc for all children with acute diarrhea.
• The correct dose for infants aged 2 to 6 months is 10 mg of elemental zinc per day.
• The correct dose for children aged 6 months to 5 years is 20 mg of elemental zinc per day.
• This regimen is proven to reduce the duration and severity of the current diarrheal episode and also helps prevent future episodes for up to 3 months.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

• Option A: The duration of 7 days is incorrect. The recommended duration is 14 days to ensure the preventive benefits of zinc.
• Option B: Both the doses (5 mg and 10 mg) and the duration (5 days) are too low and sub-therapeutic according to standard guidelines.
• Option D: The doses of 20 mg for an infant and 50 mg for an older child are too high and risk causing zinc toxicity, which can manifest with vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

• Nursing practice connection: Use the key finding related to Zinc supplementation guidelines for childhood diarrhea to guide bedside assessment, documentation, and the next nursing action.
• Zinc supplementation, along with Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS), is a cornerstone of modern management for childhood diarrhea and significantly reduces morbidity and mortality.
• A key nursing responsibility is to counsel caregivers on the importance of completing the full 14-day course of zinc, even if the child's diarrhea resolves sooner. This ensures the crucial preventive effect.
• Nurses should instruct caregivers to administer the zinc tablet by dissolving it in a small amount of expressed breast milk, ORS, or clean water.

How to Approach the Question

• First, break down the question into its core components. The question asks for three specific values: the zinc dose for infants (2-6 months), the dose for older children (>6 months), and the duration of treatment.
• Second, recall the standard WHO/IMNCI guidelines for managing childhood diarrhea. This is a fundamental piece of knowledge in pediatric nursing.
• Third, systematically evaluate each option against the three required values.
• Option A has the correct doses but the wrong duration (7 days instead of 14).
• Option B has incorrect doses and an incorrect duration.
• Option D has excessively high doses.

Concept Tested & Keywords

• Concept Tested: Zinc supplementation guidelines for childhood diarrhea
• Stem keywords: Zinc, diarrhea, dose, child, 2 m to 6 m, above 6 m, days
• Lead-in keywords: is
• Clinical cues: Age/sex group narrows the expected diagnosis, intervention, or normal reference range.

Question ID

Q0vJm0x8-J-6hiQ3bnKy0n

Copy ID

Reference Book

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

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