BACKGROUND: Acute gastroenteritis remains a common cause of hospital emergency room visits in Albania. However, the aetiology of severe gastroenteritis leading to hospitalization in adults frequently remains unclear. AIMS: Our objective was to study the epidemiology and causes of community-acquired, acute gastroenteritis in adult patients presenting to hospital. STUDY DESIGN: Cross sectional study. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted from January 2010 to January 2012, among patients ≥15 years old with community-acquired gastroenteritis presenting to the emergency room of the University Hospital "Mother Theresa" in Tirana, Albania. Stool samples and rectal swabs were collected from the patients for microbiological testing. RESULTS: The median age of the study patients was 33 (15-88) years and 577 (58%) were females. The median age of males was 35 (15-87) years. The vast majority of cases occurred in urban area (849, 85%), p<0.01. Patients were admitted throughout the year with peak admissions for patients infected by bacterial pathogens in summer and those affected by viral pathogens in autumn. A total of 917 (91.7%) patients underwent a laboratory examination. The overall isolation rate was 51%. Bacterial pathogens were found in 29%, viral pathogens in 19% and protozoal pathogens in 2.5% of patients. No aetiological agent or other cause of acute diarrhoea was found in 449 (49%) patients. Twenty-nine (3.2%) patients were hospitalized. CONCLUSION: Despite extensive laboratory investigations, enteropathogens were detected in only 51% of adult patients who presented to the hospital ER with acute gastroenteritis. Viral infections ranked as the second most common cause of gastroenteritis in adults.
BACKGROUND:Acute gastroenteritis remains a common cause of hospital emergency room visits in Albania. However, the aetiology of severe gastroenteritis leading to hospitalization in adults frequently remains unclear. AIMS: Our objective was to study the epidemiology and causes of community-acquired, acute gastroenteritis in adult patients presenting to hospital. STUDY DESIGN: Cross sectional study. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted from January 2010 to January 2012, among patients ≥15 years old with community-acquired gastroenteritis presenting to the emergency room of the University Hospital "Mother Theresa" in Tirana, Albania. Stool samples and rectal swabs were collected from the patients for microbiological testing. RESULTS: The median age of the study patients was 33 (15-88) years and 577 (58%) were females. The median age of males was 35 (15-87) years. The vast majority of cases occurred in urban area (849, 85%), p<0.01. Patients were admitted throughout the year with peak admissions for patients infected by bacterial pathogens in summer and those affected by viral pathogens in autumn. A total of 917 (91.7%) patients underwent a laboratory examination. The overall isolation rate was 51%. Bacterial pathogens were found in 29%, viral pathogens in 19% and protozoal pathogens in 2.5% of patients. No aetiological agent or other cause of acute diarrhoea was found in 449 (49%) patients. Twenty-nine (3.2%) patients were hospitalized. CONCLUSION: Despite extensive laboratory investigations, enteropathogens were detected in only 51% of adult patients who presented to the hospital ER with acute gastroenteritis. Viral infections ranked as the second most common cause of gastroenteritis in adults.
Authors: M A de Wit; M P Koopmans; L M Kortbeek; N J van Leeuwen; J Vinjé; Y T van Duynhoven Journal: Clin Infect Dis Date: 2001-07-05 Impact factor: 9.079
Authors: Joseph S Bresee; Ruthanne Marcus; Richard A Venezia; William E Keene; Dale Morse; Mark Thanassi; Patrick Brunett; Sandra Bulens; R Suzanne Beard; Leslie A Dauphin; Laurence Slutsker; Cheryl Bopp; Mark Eberhard; Aron Hall; Jan Vinje; Stephan S Monroe; Roger I Glass Journal: J Infect Dis Date: 2012-03-27 Impact factor: 5.226
Authors: Ben Lopman; Harry Vennema; Evelyne Kohli; Pierre Pothier; Alicia Sanchez; Anabel Negredo; Javier Buesa; Eckart Schreier; Mark Reacher; David Brown; Jim Gray; Miren Iturriza; Chris Gallimore; Blenda Bottiger; Kjell-Olof Hedlund; Maria Torvén; Carl-Henrik von Bonsdorff; Leena Maunula; Mateja Poljsak-Prijatelj; Janet Zimsek; Gábor Reuter; György Szücs; Béla Melegh; Lennart Svennson; Yvonne van Duijnhoven; Marion Koopmans Journal: Lancet Date: 2004-02-28 Impact factor: 79.321