ABSTRACT

Many studies have been carried out to detect the causative agents in patients admitted to hospital with gastroenteritis. However, there is a limited number of epidemiological studies in patients hospitalized for gastroenteritis. In this study, we aimed to determine the distribution and incidence of the causative agents of acute gastroenteritis in children in Konya and to evaluate the demographic, clinical and laboratory findings.

This study included 412 patients aged 1 month to 16 years who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of gastroenteritis in the Child Health and Diseases Clinic in our hospital between January 2015 and January 2016. The data of the patients were analyzed retrospectively. The age, sex, seasonal distribution, symptoms, duration of hospitalization, course of the disease, type of acute gastroenteritis, incidence of nosocomial infections and complications were examined.

The total number of patients hospitalized for various reasons during the 12-month study period was 3985 and the patients hospitalized for diarrhea constituted 10.33% of it. Two hundred and twenty-seven of the patients were male (55.1%), and 185 (44.9%) were female. There were 57 patients (13.8%) between 0-24 months, 262 patients (63.6%) between 24-60 months and 93 patients (22.6%) over 60 months. When the age groups were compared with the disease groups, there was a statistically significant difference in the incidence of viral gastroenteritis between 24-60 months (p: 0.001). Two hundred and thirty-one (56.1%) patients had acute viral gastroenteritis, 74 (17.9%) patients had amebiasis, and 107 (26.0%) patients had bacterial gastroenteritis.

Viral agents, especially rotavirus, should be kept in mind in childhood acute gastroenteritis. Diagnosis and treatment approaches should be planned considering the incidence of other agents.