The present study, conducted from March 1998 to July 2000, determined the etiology of acute diarrhea in 253 young children and infants from Cartagena and Sincelejo, Colombia. In 253 stool samples, the following enteric pathogens were recovered: rotavirus type A (36.6%) as the major agent, Salmonella spp (9.0%), Shigella spp (8.0%), enteric pathogenic Escherichia coli (6.0%), enteric hemorragic ...

The uses, mechanisms of action, and safety of probiotics are discussed. Probiotics are live microorganisms or microbial mixtures administered to improve the patient's microbial balance, particularly the environment of the gastrointestinal tract and the vagina. The yeast Saccharomyces boulardii and the bacterium Lactobacillus rhamnosus, strain GG, have shown efficacy in clinical trials for the p...

Acute gastroenteritis is one of the most common diseases in humans worldwide. Viral gastroenteritis is a global problem in infants and young children. In this study the incidence of diarrhea was assessed in 877 hospitalized children under five years old, over a period of 24 months and distributed in 470 cases of diarrhea and 407 age-matched group with other pathologies, as control group. Two an...

Rotavirus is a major cause of infantile acute diarrhea, causing about 440,000 deaths per year, mainly in developing countries. The World Health Organization has been recommending the assessment of rotavirus burden and strain characterization as part of the strategies of immunization programs against this pathogen. In this context, a prospective study was made on a sample of 134 children with ac...

The relative efficacy and incidence of hypernatremia of a rice starch based low sodium (sodium of 60 mmol/L) oral electrolyte solution was compared to the standard WHO oral rehydration solution (ORS; sodium 90 mmol/L) in 60 infants with non choleragenic acute diarrhoea. Both solutions were found to be equally effective in correcting dehydration as determined by the respective post hydration wei...

introduction: infantile colic is one of the most common problems in the family in few weeks after birth. pathophysiology of colic has not been explained yet. the aim of this study was to compare the intestinal microflora in colicky and non-colicky infants. materials and methods: seventy breastfed infant aged 15-60 days were enrolled in this study and divided into two groups of 35 colicky and no...

The objective of this study was to construct integrated health and environmental indicators for diarrhea in infants (< 1 year of age) in Brazil. The authors used an ecological design, applying the Geo Health model, including the following dimensions: driving force, pressure, state of the environment, and exposure to human health effects. The likelihood of infant hospitalization or death from ac...

IMPORTANCE Acute diarrhea is the most common illness that affects travelers to low-income regions of the world. Although improved hygiene has reduced the risk of traveler's diarrhea in many destinations, the risk remains high in others. OBJECTIVE To review the current state of knowledge on the etiology, risk factors, prevention, and management of traveler's diarrhea. EVIDENCE REVIEW A searc...