Background: Chronic diarrhea is a major problem in pediatric patients because it induces malnutrition, general developmental defects, and an extremely death. Thus, it is important to make an accurate diagnosis, find definite etiologies, and apply proper treatments.
Aim and objectives: this work designed to study the serum level of folate in children with presistant and chronic diarrhea, Subjects and methods; this case control study was conducted in two groups of children. Group 1: Twenty-five (25) patient suffering from diarrhea for more than fourteen days. Group 2: Twenty-five (25) healthy children of matched age and sex considered as a control group. The duration of the study ranged from 6-12 months, Result; Mean plasma folate levels were significantly lower in cases group (5.01 ±1.26) compared to control group (18.62 ± 5.47), Conclusion; The mean plasma folate levels were significantly lower in diarrheal cases group compared to normal health control group. There was a significant positive correlation between plasma folate with calcium and sodium.