Treatment of acute gastro-enteritis in children

Acute gastroenteritis remains one of the most frequent disorders in infants and children. The cornerstone of the treatment is oral rehydration, although the latter does not reduce the duration of the diarrhoea, which is about four days. As a consequence, this quite benign condition still has an important socio-economic impact. Therefore, recent European guidelines and recommendations consider the administration of different medications and agents in order to reduce the duration of the diarrhoea. Racecadotril is a specific inhibitor of the intestinal enkefalines. It is thus an antisecretory agent, with a demonstrable effect already one hour after its intake.