Infantile diarrhoea: breast and bottle feeding compared with special reference to their clinical role

This study compared the clinical features of diarrhea in breastfed and bottle-fed infants in Indonesia. Study subjects included 375 infants (221 breastfed, 88 bottle-fed, and 66 fed by a combined method) under 2 years of age admitted to Gunung Wenang Hospital with diarrhea. Both the duration of diarrhea and the prevalence of prolonged diarrhea were significantly greater in bottle-fed than breastfed infants. Diarrhea persisted for 8-14 days among 17% of breastfed infants, 28% of bottle-fed infants, and 35% of infants fed by a combined method. The mean duration of diarrhea was 5.5 days among breastfed infants compared with 7.2 days among bottle-fed infants. Also noted was a significantly greater incidence of acute otitis media and rhinopharyngitis among bottle-fed infants. The prevalence rates of pneumonia, bronchitis, encephalitis, and pyelonephritis were not associated with type of infant feeding. It is suggested that acute infantile diarrhea may damage intestinal mucosa, causing an increase of foreign protein of cow's milk absorption and leading to the development of further intestinal mucosal damage and prolonged diarrhea. During episodes of diarrhea in bottle-fed infants, it is advisable to substitute low allergic milk or chicken meat porridge to avoid cow's milk intolerance.