Gastroenteritis


  • Preferred terms = acute diarrhoea and vomiting or acute intestinal infection

  • Commonest pathogen = rotavirus

  • Commonest bacteria = Campylobacter jejuni

    • fever

    • severe abdominal pain

    • diarrhoea (may be bloody)

  • Protozoal infection = Giardia lamblia

  • Other pathogens

    • Rotavirus

    • Picornavirus

    • Small round viruses

    • Corona-like viruses

    • Adenovirus

    • Campylobacter jejuni

    • Non-typhoid salmonellae

    • Shigellae

    • Yersiniae

    • Staphylococci

    • Bacillus cereus

    • Clostridia

    • Vibrio parahaemolyticus

    • Virbrio cholerae

    • Eschericia coli

    • Bacteroides fragilis

    • Aeromonas

    • Pseudomonas

    • Entamoeba histolytica

    • Giardia lamblia

    • Cryptosporidium parvum

  • Other causes

    • Systemic infection

      • Urinary tract infections

      • Septicaemia

      • Meningitis

      • respiratory tract infections

    • Surgical

      • appendicitis

      • intussusception

      • Hirschsprung disease

      • pyloric stenosis

    • Metabolic

      • diabetic ketoacidosis

      • congenital adrenal insufficiency

    • Misc.

      • antibiotic-associated

      • cystic fibrosis

      • coeliac disease

      • chronic inflammatory bowel disease

      • immunodeficiency

      • Kawasaki disease

      • laxatives

      • cow's milk protein intolerance

      • enterocolitis

      • poisoning

      • toddler diarrhoea

      • toxic shock syndrome

Signs / Symptoms

  • diarrhoea +/- vomiting
    • +/- blood
  • dehydration
    • decreased skin turgor
    • sunken eyes
    • sunken fontanelle
    • suppression tear / saliva formation
    • hypovolaemic shock

Management

  • oral rehydration therapy
    • 60mM sodium
    • 20 mM potassium
    • 100 mM glucose
  • IV fluids if neccessary
  • IV antibiotics if systemically unwell

Complications

  • Hypernatraemic dehydration
    • cerebral haemorrhage
    • cerebral oedema
    • death
    • brain damage
 

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