Prospective study of the etiology of diarrhea in adult outpatients and inpatients.

A prospective study of the etiology of diarrhea in 253 adult outpatients and inpatients was conducted in Helsinki in 1985-86. The outpatients constituted 84.6% of all patients studied. A broad panel of diagnostic techniques was applied, including detection of bacteria and parasites in the feces and determination of the serologic responses to campylobacter, salmonella, Yersinia enterocolitica, and several viruses. Pathogens were identified for 28.5% of the patients. The commonest findings were Campylobacter jejuni/coli in 13.0% and Salmonella species in 7.1% of the patients. Mixed infections of several pathogens were found in 16 patients.