Hypocalcaemia in children hospitalised for diarrhoea was associated with a higher death rate than those without hypocalcaemia.

Diarrhoea is a common cause of death in children under five years old and it accounted for 437,000 deaths worldwide in this age group in 2018 (1). Calcium plays a key role in some vital physiological body functions, like vascular contraction and vasodilatation, muscle function, nerve transmission, intracellular signalling and hormonal secretion. However less than 1% of the body's total calcium supply is required to support these functions (2). Diarrhoeal diseases are often associated with hypocalcaemia, possibly due to malabsor ption (3) and sepsis (4). However, data are limited on any associations between hypocalcaemia and diarrhoea in children and their outcomes. The aim of our study was to address that knowledge gap.