FREQUENCY OF BACTERIAL AND NON-BACTERIAL ACUTE GASTROENTERITIS IN CHILDREN ADMITTED AT A TERTIARY CARE SETTING

Abstract

Introduction: Acute gastroenteritis is a life-threatening condition especially in children. It is caused by a wide array of pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and parasites. This study was designed to find out the frequency of acute gastroenteritis in hospitalized children at a tertiary care hospital.

Material & Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the pediatric department of Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar from May 2019 to November 2019. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional ethical committee and children were enrolled after informed consents were taken from their parents. Patients of age less than 15 years hospitalized due to acute gastroenteritis were included in the study. The demographic information, clinical features and laboratory findings were collected from all children. Stool samples were assessed at the hospital laboratory for bacterial pathogens using culture and microscopy.

Results: A total of 292 patients were enrolled in the study. Children in age range from one year to seven years were 61% and 39 % were in the age range from 8 to 15 years. Males were 57% and females were 43%. Out of all 292 children, 18% had bacterial diarrhea while the rest 82% had nonbacterial diarrhea.

Conclusion: In this study, the frequency of acute gastroenteritis was higher in children below age 7 years. Males were affected more compared to females. The bacterial causes of acute gastroenteritis may be due to the unavailability of basic life resources including pure drinking water, sanitation and awareness of hand hygiene. Moreover, the frequency of bacterial diarrhea was lower compared to non-bacterial which may be due the unavailability of vaccine against Rotavirus.