A short course of oral ranitidine as a novel treatment for toddler’s diarrhea: a parallel-group randomized controlled trial

Table 1 Comparison of mean values of ages and clinical characteristics of participants in the three intervention groups

Variables	Oral ranitidine ^d Mean ± SD	Probiotic ^{b d} Mean ± SD	Placebo^{c d} Mean ± SD	F	p-value^†
Age (months)	23.90 ± 9.41	17.70 ± 7.62	17.70 ± 4.11	3.016	0.061
Male/Female ratio	13/7	6/4	4/6
Weight (kilogram)	12.85 ± 2.89	11.40 ± 1.37	13.30 ± 2.88	1.517	0.233
MUAC (centimeter)	15.25 ± 0.72	15.10 ± 0.84	15.70 ± 0.92	1.577	0.220
Height (centimeter)	90.73 ± 7.35	*86.30 ± 4.22	*85.70 ± 2.21	3.385	0.045
Pulse rate	102.40 ± 4.03	104.00 ± 3.13	103.80 ± 2.39	0.937	0.401
Temperature^a	36.92 ± 0.23	36.82 ± 0.23	36.92 ± 0.31	0.587	0.561
Respiratory rate	*31.50 ± 3.36	*32.80 ± 2.53	34.60 ± 1.35	4.135	0.024

*Duncan multiple comparison tests indicating means not significantly different. ^†p value < 0.05 adopted as statistically significant
^aMeasured in degree centigrade ^b Lyophilized lactic acid bacteria ^c Vitamin C tablet
SD standard deviation, MUAC mid-upper arm circumference
^dMean weight-for-age (W/A) for ranitidine, probiotic, and placebo groups were 11.98 kg, 10.95 kg and 10.95 kg respectively. Mean height-for-age (H/A) were 88.95 cm (ranitidine group), 85.85 cm (probiotic and placebo groups). Mean weight-for-height (W/H) Z scores were 0.013 for ranitidine group, 0.001 for probiotic group and 0.003 for placebo group

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