[Clinical pattern of pediatric acute gastroenteritis in the community]

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is a typical illness seen in outpatient children, usually treated by Family Pediatricians (FP). To analyze the characteristics of community AGE, we have collected all the case histories of children observed in a FP office, analyzing computerized clinical file (FIMED Infantia), taken from the period 2003-2007. We enrolled 1140 children with AGE were gathered, for an average of 228 cases/year; 578 (51%) males and 562 (49%) females; the month with highest number of cases is October (120 cases, 10.5%), followed by September and April (105 cases in both, 9.2%). The month with the lowest incidence is February (75 cases, 6.6%) followed by August (81 cases, 7.1%); children's mean age is 4.6 +/- 3.4 years with a wide range (10 days divided by 16 years). As regards the clinical pattern, 314 children (27.5%) presented high fever, 395 (34.6%) vomiting and 24 cases (2.1%) bloody diarrhea; mean daily stools is 3.9 +/- 1.1; only 4 children suffered from severe dehydration. 255 children (22.4%) received antibiotic prescription, mainly cotrimoxazole (51%), followed by cephalosporins (39%) and macrolides (10%); 893 children (78.3%) were prescribed probiotics. Oral rehydrating solution was always offered to all children, followed by normal diet and only 4 children (0.4%) need the administration of a lactose free formula. Mean duration of diarrhea was 3.4 +/- 1.7 days, only 10 children (0.9%) suffered from chronic diarrhea and only 2 children (0.2%) were hospitalized due to severe dehydration. In conclusion, the child that refers to the FP office, is often a child with minor symptoms, for whom admission is not required; he/she presents a regular course and slight complications.