Abstract

Worldwide, there are about two billion cases of diarrhoeal disease every year and it is the second leading cause of death in children under 5 years of age, killing 1.5 million children annually.¹ The most severe threat posed by diarrhoea is dehydration. In the UK, the incidence of diarrhoea is about one episode per person per year,² and approximately 10% of children younger than 5 years old present to healthcare services with gastroenteritis each year.³ ▼Racecadotril (Hidrasec) is the first in a new class of antidiarrhoeal drug (‘enkephalinase inhibitor’) that has an antisecretory mechanism and is licensed in adults, children and infants (over 3 months of age) for symptomatic treatment of acute diarrhoea or as complementary treatment when causal treatment is possible.^4–6 Here we review the evidence for racecadotril and its place in the management of acute diarrhoea.