[Etiological aspects of acute gastroenteritis--a ten-year review (1.01. 2001-31.12.2010)]

Acute gastroentritis is one of the most common diseases in humans, and continues to be a significant cause of morbidity worldwide.

To determine the bacterial pathogens associated with gastroenteritis in patients admitted to the Iasi Infectious Diseases Hospital in the last ten years.

A total of 40481 stool samples were examined using conventional methods.

Bacteria were found in 7.36% of cases, and parasites in 9.64%; 83% of the cases were viral, micotic, or disbiotic. The bacterial etiology was dominated by Salmonella spp. (58.34%), Shigella spp. (27.08%), Yersinia enterocolitica 03 (8.53%), Campylobacter spp. (1.31%), other bacterial pathogens (EPEC, Aeromonas hydrophilla/caviae/sobria, Plesiomonas shigelloides, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, etc) being detected in 3.74% of the cases. Of the Salmonella species, group B (51.99%) followed by group D (45.23%) were most common. Shigella sonnei and Shigella flexneri were found in almost the same proportion (49.45% and 49.70%, respectively); Shigella boydii was isolated in only 0.85% of cases. The trend of gastroenteritis caused by bacterial pathogens is decreasing: from 355 cases in 2001 to 105 cases in 2010; three peaks have been recorded in 2002, 2005 (when Salmonella typhi was isolated in a patient), and 2008 (469, 409, and 252 cases, respectively). Bacterial gastroenteritis affected both sexes almost equally (122 males and 118 females). The most affected age groups were: 0 - 4 years, 15 - 24 years, 5 - 14 years and 25 - 39 years.

Laboratory investigations are essential in determining the etiology of gastroenteritis. Its unpredictable incidence justifies the human and material efforts aimed at controlling the spread of potentially epidemic acute gastroenteritis.