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Query: UMLS:C0017160 (gastroenteritis)
 11,398 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Diarrheal disease is the major cause of childhood morbidity in developing countries. Although malnutrition is known as a risk factor for severe gastroenteritis, the role of enteric pathogens in the clinical severity is unclear. The present study was conducted in well nourished Ghanaian preschool children during a 3 month period of the rainy season to assess the relationship between enteric pathogens and severe gastroenteritis. Two hundred and twenty-five children with acute gastroenteritis and 64 age-matched control children were prospectively examined for the severity of dehydration and enteric pathogens in their stools. Of the 225 children with gastroenteritis, 69.8% (157/225) had mild dehydration and 30.2% (68/225) had severe dehydration. Bacteria were similarly isolated in stool samples from children with mild and severe dehydration and controls. Rotavirus accounted for 20.6% of children with severe dehydration and was more often isolated in stools from patients with severe dehydration than those from controls. Furthermore, the mixed infections associated with rotavirus and bacteria were more often found in patients with severe dehydration than those with mild dehydration or controls. Parasites were similarly found at low incidences among the three groups. The present study implied that rotavirus was more responsible for severe gastroenteritis than bacteria or parasites. However, factors other than enteric pathogens must be sought in a considerable number of severe cases. A large scale study throughout a year is recommended to obtain more precise information that would reflect the seasonal variation of rotavirus infections.
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PMID:Enteric pathogens in severe forms of acute gastroenteritis in Ghanaian children. 900 7

A surveillance system was used to detect births and deaths in children in a large, rural, West African population from 1989 to 1993. Cause of death was investigated using post-mortem questionnaires. Overall infant (age 0-11 months) and child (age 1-4 years) mortality rates of 80.1 and 18.8 per 1000 per year were recorded. These were reasonably consistent over the period of surveillance. The most frequent cause of death in infants was acute respiratory infection (ARI), whereas in children it was malaria: these two conditions accounted for 41% of the deaths in children under 5 years old. Other leading causes of death were acute gastroenteritis, malnutrition, and septicaemia. Deaths attributed to ARI decreased over the 5-year period, but mortality rates from other causes were either unchanged or increased slightly. Mortality from all causes peaked in the rainy season and was slightly higher in villages which were part of a primary health care programme than in those which were not. There were also no differences between male and female mortality rates beyond one year of age. Despite the introduction of a number of health interventions, there has been no major change in the overall pattern of mortality in children in a rural area of The Gambia. Malaria and ARI remain the main causes of death.
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PMID:Changes in the pattern of infant and childhood mortality in upper river division, The Gambia, from 1989 to 1993. 901

Children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) present unique challenges to physicians and all health-care providers. The most important aspect is that children are not small adults. They are characterized by a highly dynamic state of growth and physical change as well as a constant alteration in psychological status. It will not be difficult to recognize IBD, even in children, when it presents with classical symptoms such as bloody diarrhoea, abdominal pain and weight loss. However, some children will present with abdominal pain and depression. Not infrequently these children are diagnosed as being depressed and are seen and treated by psychologists and psychiatrists for different periods of time. In addition, several children will be initially diagnosed as having a bacterial gastroenteritis with a proven positive faecal culture. It seems to be the triggering event in these children, and if adequate therapy fails, colonoscopy is indicated. Recently, Beattie et al. showed that in children seen for chronic abdominal pain simple routine blood tests including full blood count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate are almost always abnormal in children with IBD. But most importantly, growth retardation is common in children with IBD and is more often found in Crohn's disease (CD) than in ulcerative colitis (UC). Faltering growth is a sign of a catabolic situation. Therefore, it is essential to follow the growth of children at the beginning and during treatment of IBD. Growth retardation can be the first symptom of IBD and is often already present before other symptoms of IBD become apparent. Rarely, extra-intestinal manifestations, particularly arthritis, can be the first and sometimes only initial symptom for months to years in children with IBD. About 2% of all patients with IBD present before the age of 10 years, but 30% present between the age of 10 and 19 years. A significant proportion of young patients with IBD will develop the disease just prior to or during puberty. Adolescent growth is characterized by rapid accumulation of lean body mass and any inflammatory disease occurring at this time is likely to have a major impact on nutritional status and growth. This rapid growth requires an appropriate increase in nutritional substrates and failure to achieve catch-up growth may ultimately lead to poor cumulative growth over time. Most of the growth retardation is seen in children with CD, approximately 30%. However, also in UC 15% will show a reduction in growth. The higher percentage in CD could be due to the disease itself or to the relative subtlety of the intestinal manifestations of CD, mainly abdominal pain and general malaise. Not only growth, but also delayed puberty, is a sign of an ongoing disease that most likely needs more intensive treatment. It has been shown that the severity of disease activity plays a more important role in the occurrence of growth retardation than steroid treatment. Therefore in paediatrics it is important to state that growth retardation during medical treatment equals undertreatment. In contrast to adults, the potential benefit of nutritional therapy should be seriously considered in addition to aggressive medical therapy including steroids and other immunosuppressive agents such as azathioprine. The most convincing evidence that malnutrition is primarily responsible for growth failure is based on depletion studies. The malnutrition itself is caused by ongoing inflammation and loss of appetite. Recommendations for nutritional therapy include an increase in energy and protein intake to 150% of recommended daily allowances for height and age. Some studies have shown the benefit of nocturnal nasogastric infusion as supplements of daily intake. Importantly, nutritional support has been shown to be as effective as steroids in achieving remission of disease in children. Furthermore, no significant differences have been shown in studies using elemental versus polymeric diets.
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PMID:Problems in diagnosis of IBD in children. 905 Mar 26

This study evaluated the quality of the clinical management of the most common childhood diseases in rural Papua New Guinea: pneumonia, malaria, gastroenteritis, malnutrition, meningitis, and tuberculosis. Study methods included direct observation of the routine management of 384 sick children and evaluation of the clinical knowledge of 124 health workers at health centers, health subcenters, and aid posts. Although protocols are outlined in standard treatment manuals available to all health professionals, the analysis revealed major inadequacies in the quality of history taking, examination, record keeping, diagnosis, and treatment. Overall, 0-3 history questions were asked in 48% of all physician-patient observations and 0-1 examination procedures were performed in 41%. Weight was taken In only one-third of cases. Screening for severe diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, meningitis, severe dehydration, and weight loss was lacking. History taking and examination performance levels were positively associated with the professional training of the health worker. The child's guardian was told about what was wrong with the child in 23% of cases, treatment instructions were given in 44%, preventive advice was given in 21%, and instructions on when to return the child to the facility were given in 38% of cases. A specific diagnosis was recorded in only 17% of child health record books. In terms of treatment, an overuse of injectable penicillin was observed. Recommended are community education on the importance of early presentation at a health facility, continuing education for rural health workers, and a comprehensive approach to supervision that periodically assesses logistics and management needs.
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PMID:The clinical diagnosis and treatment of important childhood diseases in rural Papua New Guinea. 959 72

The elderly (> or = 65 years of age) are more susceptible to morbidity and mortality from foodborne-induced gastroenteritis than younger individuals. Several factors contribute to the increased susceptibility to foodborne infections as well as other infections in elderly populations. These include an age-associated decrease in humoral and cellular immunity, age-related changes in the gastrointestinal tract (decreased production of gastric acid and decreased intestinal motility), malnutrition, lack of exercise, entry into nursing homes, and excessive use of antibiotics. Data from foodborne outbreaks associated with nursing homes indicate that the elderly are more likely to die from foodborne Campylobacter, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus infections than the general population. Infections by Salmonella species are the most common cause of illness and death in nursing homes with Salmonella enteritidis as the major cause of both morbidity and mortality. While it is impossible to turn back the clock, practicing a healthy life-style with regular exercise, maintaining a balanced diet, receiving regular health care, paying attention to personal hygiene, and monitoring food preparation and handling should lead to a reduced incidence of foodborne and other infections in the elderly.
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PMID:Foodborne illness in the elderly. 976 83

Despite recommendations from several bodies such as the World Health Organization and others that feeding should be continued during diarrhea, the practice of withholding food during the early stages of diarrhea is still widespread. This contributes to a deterioration in patients' nutritional state. The principal controversy in the nutritional therapy of acute gastroenteritis centers on the relative risks of cows'-milk feeds. The two things that need to be considered in determining the optimum approach to feeding the child with acute diarrhea are the optimum timing for feeding children in relation to the onset of and recovery from symptoms and, secondly, the effects of specific food ingredients in the diet. Recent studies have demonstrated that the vast majority of young children with acute diarrhea can be successfully managed with continued feeding of undiluted non-human milk. Routine dilution of milk and routine use of lactose-free formula are not necessary, especially when oral rehydration therapy and early feeding (in addition to milk) form the basic approach to the clinical management of diarrhea in children. Confounding factors are the severity of the diarrhea, coexistent malnutrition, and young age (< 1 y); such infants are much more likely to have complications from early feeding with undiluted milk and some would advocate use of specifically designed lactose-free formula in such children. Children who are fed exclusively with human milk and those who receive solid foods with or without human milk may safely continue to receive their usual diets during diarrhea. Those who are fed exclusively with non-human milk--especially when very young and with severe diarrhea or malnutrition--should be closely observed if they continue to consume milk or they should receive a special formulation (e.g., a cereal-milk mixture or fermented milk product). The use of nutrient-dense mixtures of common foods may be advisable to promote compensatory growth in those who lose weight during illness or because of anorexia or malabsorption.
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PMID:Nutritional management of acute diarrhea. 978 56

Nutrition is a final common pathway in chronic disease, and weight loss is a major manifestation of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). In sub-Saharan Africa, studies have shown that 25% of children with malnutrition have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, although patterns of malnutrition are indistinguishable from those who are HIV negative. Breast-feeding increases the risk of vertical transmission, and the overall risk versus benefit needs continuing careful consideration in relation to local mortality from gastroenteritis and malnutrition. Chronic diarrhea is much more common in HIV-infected children in Africa and may have a multiplicity of causes, including infection with adherent forms of Escherichia coli, protozoa, and even direct HIV infection of intestinal mucosal cells. The HIV wasting syndrome produces reduction in bioelectrical impedence, fat, lean body mass, and body cell mass, but the changes can be predicted from equations used in starvation states. Micronutrients may be important, but observed changes may be due to immune mediator activation, rather than malnutrition. Calorie supplementation is beneficial when delivered by any route, but is likely to produce the greatest positive change when CD4 counts are highest in relation to calorie intake. Paradoxically, HIV-infected children may be obese early in the disease until AIDS develops. There is an inextricable link between disease and nutritional status. In children with AIDS wasting syndrome, a low CD4 count and high viral load are likely so that effective antiviral treatment may ultimately produce the greatest improvement in health, including nutritional status.
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PMID:Global issues in pediatric nutrition: AIDS. 978 58

Acute gastroenteritis represents a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality among children in the developing world as well as morbidity in the developed world. Despite the large number of potential etiologic agents, management of gastroenteritis is uniform and aimed to prevent the two major complications, dehydration and malnutrition. Current guidelines emphasize the use of oral rehydration and the early reintroduction of age-appropriate foods. These guidelines are reviewed here, the underlying principles discussed, and practical points provided.
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PMID:Acute gastroenteritis. 992 36

Childhood mortality and morbidity patterns in the English-speaking Caribbean have changed significantly over the past 40 years. Acute respiratory illness, physical injury and conditions originating in the perinatal period have replaced malnutrition, gastroenteritis and other infectious diseases as major causes of illness and death in Caribbean children. Although population growth has slowed down, about one-third of the population of the English-speaking Caribbean remains under the age of 15 years. Infant mortality rates have also fallen but the major contributor to this decline has been a reduction in post-neonatal deaths. The decrease in mortality and morbidity from infectious diseases has led to a prominence of disorders originating in the perinatal period, psychosocial problems and chronic childhood disorders. Adverse economic conditions are held culpable for the re-emergence of protein energy malnutrition (PEM) and pulmonary tuberculosis in some territories. There is an urgent need to focus attention on the areas of perinatal and adolescent health, childhood disability, accidental and non-accidental injury, sexual abuse and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Immunization programmes also require continuing support and expansion. These tasks cannot be accomplished without meaningful long term investment of financial and human resources in the health and educational services of the region.
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PMID:The changing face of paediatrics in the English-speaking Caribbean. 1063 56

In the last months of the second World War, 250,000 German refugees landed in Denmark. A third of them were children under the age of 15. Seven thousand German refugee children under the age of five died in Denmark in 1945. Using birth certificates and death certificates from the Danish national archives and burial lists from the German refugee cemetaries I have collected data to reveal causes of death, age distributions and time of the deaths of the 7000 fatal cases among children under the age of five. Three thousand children under the age of one, 2000 children one year old and 2000 children 2-4 years old died. Most of them died just before and after the German surrender, but many died in the months following the German surrender. The infant mortality was extremely high all during 1945. The infants died from diseases due to malnutrition, but the older the children the more likely the causes of death were due to infectious diseases such as pneumonia, measles, diphtheria and gastroenteritis.
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PMID:[Causes of death of German refugee children in 1945]. 1074 Dec 29


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