Diarrhea is a major public health problem in underdeveloped countries, especially for babies. Diarrhea leads to dehydration, which results in millions of deaths each year worldwide. Bismuth salicylate (the active ingredient in Pepto Bismol) has been shown to reduce diarrhea in adults. Researchers in Peru conducted a double-blind randomized controlled trial to determine whether it would do so in infants suffering from diarrhea as well.
In their study, all infants received the standard therapy for diarrhea: oral rehydration. In addition to the rehydration, 85 babies received bismuth salicylate, while 84 babies received a placebo. The total stool volumes for all infants over the course of their illness was measured. To adjust for body size, the researchers divided by body weight to obtain their outcome of interest: stool output per kilogram of body weight.
Group: Therapy group (Control, Treatment)Stool: Stool output (ml/kg)Figueroa-Quintanilla D, Salazar-Lindo E, Sack RB, Leon-Barua R, Sarabia-Arce S, Campos-Sanchez M, and Eyzaguirre-Maccan E. (1993). A controlled trial of bismuth subsalicylate in infants with acute watery diarrheal disease. New England Journal of Medicine, 328: 1653-1658.