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
. 2022;22(1):77-82.
doi: 10.24911/SJP.106-1598092241.

Paediatric gastroenteritis disease characteristics, management and seasonal variation in one region of Ireland: prospective study

Zakaria Barsoum  1
Affiliations

Paediatric gastroenteritis disease characteristics, management and seasonal variation in one region of Ireland: prospective study

Zakaria Barsoum. Sudan J Paediatr. 2022.

Abstract

Background: Acute gastroenteritis (GE) is a clinical syndrome and harbours a significant global burden. Nosocomial acquisition of gastroenteritis results in a significant economic burden. We aim to determine gastroenteritis frequency, disease severity, nosocomial acquisition and clinical spectrum in our region for 2016-2017.

Methods: This is a prospective study of all children up to 3 years of age who presented to Mayo University Hospital with vomiting and diarrhoea, from 18 November 2016 to 18 November 2017. All children had their clinical severity of gastroenteritis assessed using the internationally recognised Vesikari scoring system.

Results: A total of 159 cases were detected, 157 were studied, 87 were male (55%) and 90 were severe (57%). Nosocomial gastroenteritis is rare (2 cases) (1.1%); 129 cases were admitted and the majority of paediatric gastroenteritis cases (68%) stayed between 1 and 2 days. Diarrhoea was noted in all cases, vomiting in 130 cases (82%), fever in 136 cases (86%) and dehydration in 89 cases (56%). Oral rehydration therapy was successful in 33 cases (21%). The fourth week of June was the peak week of the year for gastroenteritis (7 cases). The largest number of presentations with GE was noted in May (20 cases), followed by December and June (18 cases each) with the largest number of severe GE noted in June (12 cases), followed by December and May (11 cases each).

Conclusion: Diarrhoea is the most predominant feature of gastroenteritis. Acute viral gastroenteritis occurs throughout the year. Seasonal variations of gastroenteritis were noted throughout the year. Nosocomial infection is rare.

Keywords: Gastroenteritis; Health services; Mayo University Hospital; Northern Ireland; Paediatric.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Gastroenteritis cases age and gender (2016–2017). GE, gastroenteritis; Y, year.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Gastroenteritis monthly figures.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Gastroenteritis monthly figures and severity. GE, gastroenteritis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Guarino A, Ashkenazi S, Gendrel D, et al. European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition/European Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases evidence-based guidelines for the management of acute gastroenteritis in children in Europe: update 2014. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2014;59:132. https://doi.org/10.1097/MPG.0000000000000375. - PubMed
    1. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Diarrhoea and vomiting in children: Diarrhoea and vomiting caused by gastroenteritis: diagnosis, assessment and management in children younger than 5 years; 2017. Available from: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg84 .
    1. King CK, Glass R, Bresee JS. Managing acute gastroenteritis among children: oral rehydration, maintenance, and nutritional therapy. Vol. 52. MMWR Recomm Rep; 2003. Duggan, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; p. 1. - PubMed
    1. Velázquez FR, Matson DO, Calva JJ, Guerrero L, Morrow AL, Carter-Campbell S, et al. Rotavirus infection in infants as protection against subsequent infections. N Engl J Med. 1996;335:1022. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199610033351404. - PubMed
    1. Osborne CM, Montano AC, Robinson CC, Schultz-Cherry S, Dominguez SR. Viral gastroenteritis in children in Colorado 2006-2009. J Med Virol. 2015;87:931. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.24022. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources