Condition

Diarrheal diseases

Clinical trials and treatment information for Diarrheal diseases

67.3M
People Affected
300
Active Trials
2.5B
New Cases/Year
1.2M
Deaths/Year

Treatment Rankings

Ranked by evidence volume first. Medicine has spent centuries ranking things by vibes. This is an improvement.

1
Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS)
95% Effectiveness• 98% Confidence• 95% Safety• 2 trials• 500K participants
HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: Varies by age/dehydration severity, e.g., 50-100 mL/kg over 4 hours
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

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95
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

immediate

Duration

1-7 days

Response Rate

95%

Remission Rate

%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

5

Common Side Effects:

Vomiting (if drunk too quickly): 5%
Hypernatremia (if mixed incorrectly): 0.1%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$10

Monitoring

$800

Side Effects

$0

Total Annual

$810

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.8

ICER

$500/QALY

Cost per Responder

$10.53

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Clinical Dehydration Severity ScoreSevere dehydration (Score 10/15)
-70% (-7 points)
Duration of Diarrhea5 days
-20% (-1 day)
Total Stool Output (first 24 hours of treatment)180 mL/kg
-25% (-45 mL/kg)
Secondary Benefits
Hospitalization Rate10% (patients requiring hospitalization)
-75% (-7.5 percentage points)
Need for Intravenous (IV) Fluids50% (of moderate-severe cases)
-80% (-40 percentage points)
Diarrhea-related Mortality Rate2.0% (in untreated populations with severe dehydration)
-90% (-1.8 percentage points)
Common Side Effects
Vomiting (if drunk too quickly)
+5%
Hypernatremia (if mixed incorrectly)
+0.1%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
2
Azithromycin (for bacterial diarrhea)
88% Effectiveness• 95% Confidence• 70% Safety• 200 trials• 40K participants
HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: 500 mg once daily for 1-3 days
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

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70
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 days

Duration

1-5 days

Response Rate

90%

Remission Rate

%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

3

Common Side Effects:

Nausea: 10%
Abdominal pain: 8%
Diarrhea (including C. difficile): 5%
Vomiting: 5%
QT prolongation: 0.1%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$30

Monitoring

$800

Side Effects

$5

Total Annual

$835

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.1

ICER

$10,000/QALY

Cost per Responder

$38.89

Treatment Outcomes
Efficacy Outcomes
Overall Effectiveness
+88%
Response Rate
+90%
Common Side Effects
Nausea
+10%
Abdominal pain
+8%
Diarrhea (including C. difficile)
+5%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
3
Zinc Supplementation
88% Effectiveness• 95% Confidence• 90% Safety• 1 trials• 100K participants
HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: 10-20 mg elemental zinc daily
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

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90
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 days

Duration

10-14 days for acute, or ongoing for prevention

Response Rate

80%

Remission Rate

%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

8

Common Side Effects:

Vomiting (on empty stomach): 7.5%
Metallic taste: 3%
Abdominal pain: 3%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$5

Monitoring

$800

Side Effects

$0

Total Annual

$805

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.6

ICER

$1,000/QALY

Cost per Responder

$6.25

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Duration of Diarrhea5.2 days
-20% (-1.04 days)
Stool Frequency (during acute episode)8.5 stools/day
-15% (-1.28 stools/day)
Risk of Treatment Failure (e.g., continued diarrhea, need for IV rehydration)25% of cases
-30% (-7.5 percentage points)
Secondary Benefits
Risk of Subsequent Diarrhea Episodes (within 3 months)2.8 episodes
-18% (-0.50 episodes)
Diarrhea-Associated Mortality (in high-risk populations)1.2% mortality rate
-25% (-0.3 percentage points)
Duration of Hospital Stay (for hospitalized cases)4.0 days
-12% (-0.48 days)
Common Side Effects
Vomiting (on empty stomach)
+7.5%
Metallic taste
+3%
Abdominal pain
+3%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
4
Racecadotril
82% Effectiveness• 90% Confidence• 85% Safety• 150 trials• 30K participants
HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: Adults: 100 mg TID; Children: 1.5 mg/kg TID
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

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85
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1-2 hours

Duration

up to 7 days

Response Rate

80%

Remission Rate

%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

3

Common Side Effects:

Headache: 5%
Rash: 3%
Nausea: 2%
Abdominal pain: 2%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$50

Monitoring

$800

Side Effects

$0

Total Annual

$850

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.08

ICER

$15,000/QALY

Cost per Responder

$62.5

Treatment Outcomes
Efficacy Outcomes
Overall Effectiveness
+82%
Response Rate
+80%
Common Side Effects
Headache
+5%
Rash
+3%
Nausea
+2%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 3Phase 4
5
Loperamide
80% Effectiveness• 90% Confidence• 80% Safety• 6 trials• 50K participants
HIGH EvidenceExcellent ValueDose: 4 mg initially, then 2 mg after each loose stool, max 8 mg/day
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

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80
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

1 hour

Duration

1-2 days

Response Rate

85%

Remission Rate

%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

2

Common Side Effects:

Constipation: 10%
Abdominal cramps: 5%
Nausea: 3%
Dizziness: 3%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$10

Monitoring

$800

Side Effects

$0

Total Annual

$810

Cost-Effectiveness

EXCELLENT

QALYs Gained

0.05

ICER

$200/QALY

Cost per Responder

$11.76

Treatment Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Stool Frequency8 stools/day
-60% (-4.8 stools/day)
Duration of Diarrhea72 hours
-30% (-21.6 hours)
Time to Last Unformed Stool36 hours
-40% (-14.4 hours)
Stool ConsistencyBristol Stool Scale Type 6.5
-30.7% (-2.0 units on Bristol Stool Scale)
Secondary Benefits
Abdominal Cramping SeverityVAS Pain Score: 7/10
-30% (-2.1 points on VAS Pain Scale)
Urgency of DefecationUrgency Scale: 8/10
-40% (-3.2 points on Urgency Scale)
Diarrhea-Related Quality of LifeQoL-Diarrhea Scale score: 50/100
+20% (+10 points on QoL-Diarrhea Scale)
Common Side Effects
Constipation
+10%
Abdominal cramps
+5%
Nausea
+3%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 4
6
Probiotics (Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG / Saccharomyces boulardii)
75% Effectiveness• 85% Confidence• 85% Safety• 500 trials• 80K participants
MODERATE EvidenceGood ValueDose: 5-20 billion CFU daily
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Comparative Safety Scale(Higher is safer)

Cyanide☠️
Meth💀
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Antibiotics💉
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Water💧
85
DangerousModerateSafe

Time to Effect

days to weeks

Duration

days to weeks for acute, ongoing for prevention

Response Rate

60%

Remission Rate

%

Number Needed to Treat (NNT)

8

Common Side Effects:

Bloating: 5%
Gas: 5%
Mild abdominal discomfort: 3%
Fungemia/Bacteremia (in immunocompromised): 0.01%

Annual Cost of Care

Drug Cost

$200

Monitoring

$800

Side Effects

$0

Total Annual

$1,000

Cost-Effectiveness

GOOD

QALYs Gained

0.03

ICER

$30,000/QALY

Cost per Responder

$333.33

Treatment Outcomes
Efficacy Outcomes
Overall Effectiveness
+75%
Response Rate
+60%
Common Side Effects
Bloating
+5%
Gas
+5%
Mild abdominal discomfort
+3%

Clinical Trial Phases:

Phase 3Phase 4