Medication
Gastroenteritis is inflammation of the stomach, small intestine, or large intestine, leading to a combination of abdominal pain, cramping, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Acute gastroenteritis usually lasts fewer than 14 days.
Therapy
Managing Acute Gastroenteritis Among Children 1 Introduction. ... 2 Physiologic Basis for Using Oral Rehydration Solutions. ... 3 Home Management of Acute Diarrhea. ... 4 Clinical Management in the Hospital. ... 5 Hypernatremic Dehydration. ... 6 Supplemental Zinc Therapy. ... 7 Specific Clinical Scenarios. ... 8 References. ...
Nutrition
Gastroenteritis is defined as swelling and inflammation of the stomach and the intestines caused by viruses or bacteria. Symptoms include: nausea, vomiting,
What is gastroenteritis and how is it treated?
Recent oral intake, including breast milk and other fluids and food; urine output; weight before illness; and associated symptoms, including fever or changes in mental status, should be noted.
How to manage acute gastroenteritis among children?
What is gastroenteritis and what causes it?
What factors should be included in the evaluation of acute gastroenteritis?
What is the treatment for bacterial gastroenteritis?
Bacterial gastroenteritis is sometimes treated with antibiotics. If severe cases are not treated, they can lead to severe dehydration, neurological problems, kidney failure, and even death. Good hygiene is the best way to prevent bacterial gastroenteritis.
What is the prevention of gastroenteritis?
How can I protect myself and my family from getting sick with viral gastroenteritis? People can reduce their chance of getting infected by frequent hand-washing, prompt disinfection of contaminated surfaces, prompt washing of soiled articles of clothing and avoiding food or water that is thought to be contaminated.
What is the treatment for viral gastroenteritis?
How is viral gastroenteritis treated? Specific treatment is usually not needed. In most cases, you simply need to drink plenty of fluids and rest at home until the virus leaves your system. In rare cases, you may need treatment for severe dehydration with IV (intravenous) fluids.
What is the fastest way to cure gastroenteritis?
There is no real cure for a stomach bug (viral gastroenteritis) because it is caused by a virus....If you can keep food down:Eat mild, bland foods such as rice and bananas.If you can tolerate it, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains may be consumed.Avoid foods with a lot of fat and sugar, which can aggravate symptoms.
What is the infection control measures that needs to be implemented in the facility during gastroenteritis outbreak?
Contact precautions includes wearing gloves and a plastic apron or impervious gown when having contact with the patient or the patient's environment, especially when attending to patient toileting and hygiene. Protective eyewear and mask must be worn when there is the potential of vomit or faecal splashing.
What is gastroenteritis?
Overview. Viral gastroenteritis is an intestinal infection that includes signs and symptoms such as watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea or vomiting, and sometimes fever.
What is the best treatment for norovirus?
There is no treatment for norovirus, but it typically resolves on its own. It's recommended to stay home and stay hydrated until your symptoms pass, because you can easily spread the virus to others. If your symptoms don't go away after a few days, contact a healthcare provider.
Do you need antibiotics for gastroenteritis?
Bacterial gastroenteritis is sometimes treated with antibiotics. If severe cases are not treated, they can lead to severe dehydration, neurological problems, kidney failure, and even death. Good hygiene is an important way to prevent bacterial gastroenteritis.
What is ORT therapy?
Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) includes rehydration and maintenance fluids with oral rehydration solutions (ORS), combined with continued age-appropriate nutrition. Although ORT has been instrumental in improving health outcomes among children in developing countries, its use has lagged behind in the United States.
What is the best treatment for diarrhea?
The combination of oral rehydration and early nutritional support has proven effective throughout the world in treating acute diarrhea. In 1992, CDC prepared the first national guidelines for managing childhood diarrhea ( CDC.
Why is antimicrobial therapy not recommended for children?
Even when a bacterial cause is suspected in an outpatient setting, antimicrobial therapy is not usually indicated among children because the majority of cases of acute diarrhea are self-limited and not shortened by antimicrobial agents. Exceptions to these rules involve special needs of individual children (e.g., immune-compromised hosts, premature infants, or children with underlying disorders). Information regarding appropriate antimicrobial therapy of bacterial and parasitic causes of acute infectious diarrhea is available ( 63-- 66 ).
What is the first symptom of a non-gastrointestinal illness?
Diarrhea can be among the initial signs of nongastrointestinal tract illnesses, including meningitis, bacterial sepsis, pneumonia, otitis media, and urinary tract infection. Vomiting alone can be the first symptom of metabolic disorders, congestive heart failure, toxic agent ingestion, or trauma.
Why are oligosaccharides called prototypic prebiotics?
The oligosaccharides contained in human milk have been called the prototypic prebiotic because they foster growth of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria in the colon of breastfed neonates ( 97 ). Data have linked higher intakes of breast milk oligosaccharides with a lowered incidence of acute diarrhea ( 98 ).
What is the definition of diarrhea?
Diarrhea is characterized by the passage of loose or watery stools; a common case definition of acute diarrhea is > 3 loose or watery stools/day. The volume of fluid lost through stools can vary from 5 mL/kg body weight/day (approximately normal) to > 200 mL/kg body weight/day ( 40 ). Dehydration and electrolyte losses associated with untreated diarrhea cause the primary morbidity of acute gastroenteritis. Diarrhea can be among the initial signs of nongastrointestinal tract illnesses, including meningitis, bacterial sepsis, pneumonia, otitis media, and urinary tract infection. Vomiting alone can be the first symptom of metabolic disorders, congestive heart failure, toxic agent ingestion, or trauma. To rule out other serious illnesses, a detailed history and physical examination should be performed as part of the evaluation of all children with acute gastroenteritis.
When were electrolytes tested?
In 1971, oral electrolyte solutions were tested through the large-scale treatment of refugees from Bangladesh ( 12,27 ). The resulting success of oral solutions hastened development of the first World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for ORT and the production of standard packets of oral rehydration salts.
How many cases of gastroenteritis are there in the US?
There are more than 350 million cases of acute gastroenteritis in the United States annually and 48 million of these cases are caused by foodborne bacteria.
What is the primary supportive treatment for acute gastroenteritis?
Contact precautions, public health education, and prudent use of antibiotics are necessary goals in decreasing the prevalence of Clostridium difficle. Preventing dehydration or providing appropriate rehydration is the primary supportive treatment of acute gastroenteritis.
Does diarrhea affect people traveling from developed countries to developing countries?
Traveler's diarrhea affects more than half of people traveling from developed countries to developing countries. In adult and pediatric patients, the prevalence of Clostridium difficile is increasing.
Goals of Therapy
Rehydration
Empiric Therapy
Antiemetics
Specialist to consult
Antidiarrheals
- Goals of ED therapy include the following: 1. Rehydrate orally (PO) or intravenously (IV) as needed. 2. Treat symptoms (eg, fever, pain) as indicated. 3. Identify complications. 4. Prevent the spread of infections. 5. Identify public health concerns and treat certain cases with specific or empiric antibiotic therapy.
Inpatient Care
- Note the following: 1. Administration of 1-2 L dextrose 5% in 0.5 isotonic sodium chloride solution with 50 mEq NaHCO3and 10-20 mEq KCl over 30-45 minutes may be necessary in patients who are severely dehydrated. 2. Clinical assessment and serum electrolyte concentrations should guide therapy. 3. To give fluids more rapidly, KCl may be given orally or in the second or third lite…
Transfer
- Empiric therapy for infectious diarrhea is sometimes indicated. Food-borne toxigenic diarrhea usually requires only supportive treatment, not antibiotics. Note the following: 1. The duration of traveler's diarrhea (E coli, Shigella) can be shortened by half or more with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMZ) or ciprofloxacin administered for 3 days. Single doses have also …