Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0740441 (acute diarrhea)
 2,275 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A rural area of Bangladesh with a population of 191,000 had 643 health care providers, of whom 324 (50%) practiced allopathic (Western) medicine, 152 (24%) were spiritualists, 109 (17%) were herbalists, and 58 (9%) were homeopaths. Two hundred eight (64%) of the allopaths had no formal training, and only 18 (6%) were graduates of medical school. In a community-based study of 480 children with bloody diarrhea and 480 children with nonbloody diarrhea, allopathic treatment was the most common care provided. Furazolidone and metronidazole were the two most commonly prescribed drugs, given to 26% and 23% of children, respectively, who were seen by a practitioner. Only 25% of children had received oral rehydration therapy. We conclude that in this region of Bangladesh care of acute diarrhea is provided mostly by private medical practitioners who have little or no training; that such care currently is largely irrational; and that the provision of rational care will require the development of simple algorithms that these practitioners can implement for treatment of this disease.
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PMID:Current practices for treatment of dysentery in rural Bangladesh. 204 62

Furazolidone, a synthietic nitrofuran, is active against a broad spectrum of bacteria and Giardia lamblia. Since 1954, furazolidone has been used almost exclusively for the specific and symptomatic treatment of infectious diarrheal diseases. Diarrheal disease is the leading cause of death of children and a major contributing factor of malnutrition in the developing world. It can be avoided with proper water and waste treatment, personal hygiene, and food preparation. The most critical aspect of treating acute diarrhea is maintaining optimal hydration and electrolyte balance. Fluid and electrolyte replenishment must constitute the 1st line of therapy. Antimicrobial therapy, however, improves the outlook further. Effective antimicrobials reduce the average duration of illness and the likelihood of relapses, complications and death. The ideal antimicrobial for treating acute diarrhea is a single broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent of low toxicity that would be effective for empirical treatment of acute diarrheal disease. During 30 years of clinical use worldwide, the effectiveness of furazolidone has shown to be comparable or superior to that of other drugs used to treat these diseases. Because furazolidone has fairly low toxicity, it is a relatively safe drug. The most common reaction appears to be gastrointestinal distress, though dizziness, drowsiness, headaches, and general malaise have also been reported. A drug that acts specifically on its target is generally preferable to one with less specific activity. Furazolidone inhibits a variety of bacterial enzymes, an activity that minimizes the development of resistant organisms. Furazolidone is a single, broad-spectrum antimicrobial that is effective, relatively safe, specific, and is orally administered in tablet or suspension form.
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PMID:Furazolidone for treatment of diarrhoeal disease. 357 95

Various available forms of therapy can decrease morbidity and mortality associated with acute diarrhea. Oral fluids represent the cornerstone of therapy of all cases. A variety of agents acting nonspecifically can decrease diarrhea and improve other worrisome symptoms associated with enteric infection. Kaopectate makes the stool more formed but has little additional effects. Bismuth subsalicylate, an antisecretory agent, reduces the number of stools passed by about 50 percent and improves other associated symptomatology. The drugs that affect motility such as loperamide and diphenoxylate are the most active of the nonspecifically acting drugs. They must be avoided in patients with significant fever and dysentery. Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole is now considered the drug of choice for shigellosis due to the presence of ampicillin-resistant Shigella strains in most regions of the world. Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole is also an effective form of therapy for enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli infection and for traveler's diarrhea without definable cause. Erythromycin, although not proved to be effective against Campylobacter, probably shortens the disease. Furazolidone, although not dramatically effective, has a spectrum of activity that includes Shigella, enterotoxigenic E. coli, Campylobacter, and Giardia lamblia. It may not be effective in severely ill (hospitalized) patients with diarrhea. The various forms of available therapy can be administered empirically, depending on symptomatology. Mildly ill patients (one to three unformed stools in 24 hours with minimal additional symptoms) probably are best treated with fluids only. Mild to moderately ill persons (three to six unformed stools in 24 hours) can be treated with a drug that acts nonspecifically, such as bismuth subsalicylate or loperamide. Those with severe diseases (six or more unformed stools with moderate to severe associated symptoms), particularly when associated with fever and the passage of bloody mucoid stools, may be given an antimicrobial agent. The antimicrobial drug given will be determined by ancillary laboratory tests (dark-field examination or examination of a wet-mount preparation for motile Campylobacter or stool culture for Shigella, Campylobacter, or Salmonella) or may be administered on an empiric basis. Traveler's diarrhea can be eliminated in selected persons by the administration of a pharmacologic agent. Liquid bismuth subsalicylate is effective in large doses, which may be impractical. Studies with the tablet formulation suggest that it is partially effective in preventing the illness. Doxycycline and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole are more effective, particularly when admini
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PMID:Nonfluid therapy and selected chemoprophylaxis of acute diarrhea. 389 19

The sensitivity of 59 Salmonella strains isolated in children with acute diarrhoea was tested against the new quinolones like: Ciproflaxicin (CIP), Norfloxacin (NOR) and Ofloxacin (OFX), as compared to the sensitivity against same aminosides: Gentamicin (GM), Amikacin (AN) against cephalosporins: Ceftazidime (CAZ), Cefalotine (CF) and other currently used antimicrobial agents: Tetraciclin (T), Ampicilin (A), Cloramfenicol (C), Furazolidon (FU). The majority of the studied Salmonella strains, 43 out of 59 strains, belonged to the serotype typhimurium, the most frequently serotype isolated in our geographical area. A very high percentage of Salmonella strains were sensitive against the three quinolones: 98,30% sensitive against NOR, 91,5% sensitive against OFX, 91,50% sensitive against CIP and 96,6% sensitive against AN. In contrast, the Salmonella strains sensitivity was lower in the other tested antimicrobial substances: C (32,2% sensitive strains), GM (8,5%), A (16,9%), CF (11,9%), T (3,4%), FU (1,7%). Out of 59 strains, 45 where resistant to more than four antibiotics, the most often observed pattern was: A, CAZ, CF, GM, T, C, FU.
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PMID:[The sensitivity of Salmonella strains in diarrheal disease to new quinolones compared with other antimicrobial substances]. 896 16