Clinical and epidemiological aspects of children hospitalized with severe rotavirus-associated gastroenteritis in Salvador, BA, Brazil

Abstract

Little is known about the epidemiology of severe rotavirus-associated gastroenteritis in Brazil. Given the morbidity associated with this condition and the importance of having detailed knowledge about the impact of rotavirus infection on the epidemiology of acute diarrhea in children, especially those with the most severe diarrheal conditions, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all pediatric patients admitted to a tertiary hospital in Salvador, Brazil, due to rotavirusassociated gastroenteritis during one year. It was observed that rotavirus was responsible for 15.6% of the hospitalizations caused by diarrhea and/or vomiting during the period of the study and that 87 of 218 (39.1%) patients seen at the emergency room with rotavirus-associated gastroenteritis needed to be hospitalized, comprising the population of our study. Most patients presented signs of dehydration, and 41% of them had metabolic acidosis. Most patients (79%) were between six months and four years of age and 72% of the cases occurred in June and July. Gastrointestinal symptoms were rarely present at the beginning of the clinical presentation, and they normally did not last for more than one week.

Rotavirus infection in children and adult patients attending in a tertiary Hospital of São Paulo, Brazil

“…Carneiro et al [13] demonstrated that 39% of rotavirusassociated gastroenteritis seen at the Emergency room had to be admitted to the hospital for treatment. These data reinforce the implication described of rotavirus infections with more severe cases of childhood gastroenteritis [3].…”

Antibiotics for the empirical treatment of acute infectious diarrhea in children

“…Severely ill patients may need hospitalization and further investigation, including complete blood counts, electrolyte dosing and stool culture. Rotavirus-associated diarrhea should always be excluded in such cases, given its propensity to cause severe and dehydrating pictures [5,6]. Blood culture may also be indicated in a few cases, depending on the severity and risk of hematogenic dissemination.…”

Diare Rotavirus pada Anak Usia Balita

“…Penelitian di Bangladesh, Vietnam, Brazil, maupun negara-negara Eropa melaporkan prevalensi tertinggi diare rotavirus pada kelompok usia 6-23 bulan, kemudian menurun dengan bertambahnya umur. [4][5][6][7][13][14][15][16][17][18] Kami menemukan diare rotavirus menyerang 78,4% kasus berumur kurang dari 2 tahun dengan prevalensi tertinggi pada kelompok umur 6-23 bulan (65,5%). Anak umur 6-23 bulan rentan terkena infeksi rotavirus karena kadar antibodi ibu yang diperoleh melalui ASI mulai menurun dan mulai memasuki fase oral ketika anak suka memasukkan semua benda yang dipegang ke dalam mulut.…”