In this chapter, we discuss the epidemiology, etiology, presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diarrhea in immunocompetent persons. The features of small intestinal and ileocolonic disease as related to possible causative agents are presented. Additionally, there is an emphasis on specific pathogens, with a comprehensive review of viral, bacterial, and parasitic causes of diarrhea...

In this chapter, we discuss the epidemiology, etiology, presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diarrhea in immunocompetent persons. The features of small intestinal and ileocolonic disease as related to possible causative agents are presented. Additionally, there is an emphasis on specific pathogens, with a comprehensive review of viral, bacterial, and parasitic causes of diarrhea...

We report a 63-year-old woman who presented with 1 month of non-productive cough and non-bloody diarrhea. She was on maintenance therapy for a 15-year history of Crohn's disease. Treatment with systemic corticosteroids resulted in rapid improvement of both her diarrhea and respiratory symptoms. Our patient is unique in that she presented with tracheobronchitis during an acute flare of her Crohn...

Probiotics are microorganisms with potential health benefits. They may be used to prevent and treat antibiotic-associated diarrhea and acute infectious diarrhea. They may also be effective in relieving symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, and in treating atopic dermatitis in children. Species commonly used include Lactobacillus sp., Bifidobacterium sp., Streptococcus thermophilus, and Saccharo...

Nurse hot line calls are a potential source of public health surveillance data and may help identify epidemics of emerging infectious diseases. In this study, nurse hot line data from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, showed more than a 17-fold increase in calls for diarrhea during the 1993 Milwaukee cryptosporidiosis outbreak. Moreover, consistent patterns of seasonal variation in diarrhea- and vomiting-r...

In this chapter, we discuss the epidemiology, etiology, presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diarrhea in immunocompetent persons. The features of small intestinal and ileocolonic disease as related to possible causative agents are presented. Additionally, there is an emphasis on specific pathogens, with a comprehensive review of viral, bacterial, and parasitic causes of diarrhea...

Toxigenic Clostridium difficile is a frequent cause of infectious nosocomial diarrhea accounting for up to 25% of nosocomial diarrhea cases. Clinically significant disease is thought to be due almost exclusively to C. difficile strains that produce both toxin A and toxin B. Toxigenic C. difficile produces a broad spectrum of gastrointestinal disease varying from asymptomatic carriage to fulmina...