Clinical characteristics and influencing factors of infectious diarrhea in preschool children: An observational study

Abstract

Infectious diarrhea is a common disease in preschool children, but the pathogenic species, origins, and influencing factors remain debatable. Therefore, more studies are required to solve these debatable topics. A number of 260 eligible preschool children diagnosed with infectious diarrhea in our hospital were enrolled in the infection group. Meanwhile, a number of 260 matched healthy children from the health center were enrolled in the control group. The pathogenic species and origins, the time of onset of infectious diarrhea in the infection group, demographic data, exposure history, hygiene habits, dietary habits, and other variables in both groups were initially collected from medical documents. In addition, a questionnaire was used to complete and confirm study variables through face-to-face or telephone interviews. Then, the univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to screen the influencing factors of infectious diarrhea. Among 260 infected children, salmonella (15.77%), rotavirus (13.85%), shigella (11.54%), vibrio (10.38%), and norovirus (8.85%) were the top 5 common pathogens; January (13.85%), December (12.69%), August (12.31%), February (11.92%), and July (8.46%) were the top 5 frequent times of infectious diarrhea. The distribution of onset time for infectious diarrhea was commonly found in winter and summer, and the pathogens always originated from foods. The results of multivariate regression analysis showed that recent exposure to diarrhea, flies, and/or cockroaches indoors were the 2 risk factors for infectious diarrhea; Meanwhile, rotavirus vaccination, regular hand-washing, tableware disinfection, separate preparation of cooked and raw foods, and regular intake of lactobacillus products were the 5 protective factors for infectious diarrhea in preschool children. Infectious diarrhea has a diversity of pathogenic species, origins, and influencing factors in preschool children. Activities focusing on these influencing factors such as rotavirus vaccination, consumption of lactobacillus products, and other conventional factors would be beneficial to preschool children's health.

Etiological surveillance of viral diarrhea from 2017 to 2019 in Zhangzhou city, Fujian province, China

“…Among virus-positive specimens, rotavirus exhibited the highest positive detection rate, followed by norovirus, astrovirus, and adenovirus ( Figure 3 ). The predominance of rotavirus aligns with global trends, as it is widely acknowledged as one of the leading causes of severe gastroenteritis in children worldwide ( 25 ). This highlights the prevalence and burden of rotavirus and underscores the importance of continued efforts to prevent, diagnose and treatment of rotavirus diarrheal disease.…”

Intestinal pathogens detected in cockroach species within different food-related environment in Pudong, China

“…In the present study, human enteroviruses, including sapoviruses, noroviruses and astroviruses, were detected from cockroaches in food-related environments, which were also found in human diarrhoeal disease surveillance. Research found that the common pathogens of infectious diarrhea in children include salmonella, rotavirus, shigella, vibrio, and norovirus 47 . The types of viruses detected in the above study are similar to those in this study.…”

Incidence of Cockroach Populations and Intestinal Pathogens in Different Food-Related Environments

“…In the present study, human enteroviruses, including sapoviruses, noroviruses and astroviruses, were detected from cockroaches in Food-Related Environments, which were also found in human diarrhoeal disease surveillance. Studies have found that the common pathogens of infectious diarrhea in children are salmonella, rotavirus, shigella, vibrio, and norovirus 43 . The types of viruses detected in the above study are similar to those in this study.…”