Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2003 Dec;32(4):1249-67.
doi: 10.1016/s0889-8553(03)00100-6.

Severe acute diarrhea

Julia I Gore  1 , Christina Surawicz
Affiliations
Review

Severe acute diarrhea

Julia I Gore et al. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2003 Dec.

Abstract

Acute diarrhea is commonly caused by an infection. Severe acute diarrhea warrants immediate medical evaluation and hospitalization. Indications for stool studies include fever; bloody diarrhea; recent travel to an endemic area; recent antibiotics; immunosuppression; and occupational risks, such as food handlers. Noninfectious causes include inflammatory bowel disease, radiation enteritis, and intestinal ischemia. Management of severe acute diarrhea includes intravenous fluid rehydration and empiric antibiotics. Use of antidiarrheal agents is controversial when invasive pathogens are suspected.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Algorithm developed for the management of adult diarrhea. (1) Stool examination and culture methods depend on availability, affordability, and local practice of each community or country. (2) Strongly recommended for severely ill patients (select antibiotics according to sensitivity of local antibiogram). ATB, antibiotics; DFM, darkfield microscopy (if not available, look for “shooting bacteria” under light microscopy); EHEC, enterohemorrhagic E coli; IVF, intravenous fluid; ORT, oral rehydration therapy. (Adapted from Manatsathit S, Dupont HL, Farthing M, et al. Guideline for the management of acute diarrhea in adults. J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2002;17:S54–71; with permission.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

  • Acute Diarrhea in Adults.
    Meisenheimer ES MD, MBA, Epstein C DO, Thiel D MD, MPH. Meisenheimer ES MD, MBA, et al. Am Fam Physician. 2022 Jul;106(1):72-80. Am Fam Physician. 2022. PMID: 35839362 Review.
  • [Differential diagnosis of acute diarrhea].
    Kurai H. Kurai H. Nihon Rinsho. 2012 Aug;70(8):1395-9. Nihon Rinsho. 2012. PMID: 22894080 Review. Japanese.
  • Practical management of acute diarrhea.
    Scheidler MD, Giannella RA. Scheidler MD, et al. Hosp Pract (1995). 2001 Jul 15;36(7):49-56. doi: 10.3810/hp.2001.07.243. Hosp Pract (1995). 2001. PMID: 11446600 Review.
  • [Infectious diarrhea].
    Krause M. Krause M. Praxis (Bern 1994). 1996 Oct 1;85(40):1249-52. Praxis (Bern 1994). 1996. PMID: 8966415 Review. German.
  • Acute diarrhea.
    Barr W, Smith A. Barr W, et al. Am Fam Physician. 2014 Feb 1;89(3):180-9. Am Fam Physician. 2014. PMID: 24506120
See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Cohen M.L. The epidemiology of diarrheal disease in the United States. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 1988;2:557–570. - PubMed
    1. Torrens P.R. Historical evolution and overview of health services in the United States. In: Williams S.J., editor. 6th edition. Delmar; Albany (NY): 2002. (Introduction to health science).
    1. Bern C., Martines J., de Zoysa I., Glass R.I. The magnitude of the global problem of diarrhoeal disease: a ten-year update. Bull World Health Organ. 1992;70:705–714. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yip R., Sharp T.W. Acute malnutrition and high childhood mortality related to diarrhea: lessons from the 1991 Kurdish refugee crisis. JAMA. 1993;270:587–590. - PubMed
    1. Feldman R.A., Banatvala N. The frequency of culturing stools from adults with diarrhoea in Great Britain. Epidemiol Infect. 1994;113:41–44. - PMC - PubMed