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- Title
Rotavirus and not age determines gastroenteritis severity in children: a hospital-based study.
- Authors
Albano, Fabio; Bruzzese, Eugenia; Bella, Antonino; Cascio, Antonio; Virdis, Raffaele; Pecco, Paola; Principi, Nicola; Fontana, Massimo; Guarino, Alfredo; Titone, Lucina; Arista, Serenella; Izzi, Giancarlo
- Abstract
<bold>Background: </bold>The severity of childhood gastroenteritis is generally believed to be age-related rather than aetiology-related. Rotavirus-induced gastroenteritis is more severe than gastroenteritis caused by other enteric pathogens and is also age-related. We thus addressed the question of whether the increased severity of rotavirus-induced gastroenteritis is related to age or to features intrinsic to the agent.<bold>Study Design: </bold>In this multicentre, hospital-based, prospective survey, we evaluated the severity of diarrhoea in rotavirus-positive and rotavirus-negative children up to 4 years of age. Severity was assessed with a score in four groups of age-matched children.<bold>Results: </bold>Rotavirus was detected in 381 of 911 children. Disease severity was evaluated in 589 cases for which clinical data were complete. The rotavirus-positive and rotavirus-negative groups differed with regards to diarrhoea duration, hospital stay, degree of dehydration and the number of episodes of vomiting. Gastroenteritis was more severe in rotavirus-positive than in rotavirus-negative children. In contrast, none of the main severity parameters differed in the four age groups, irrespective of the presence of rotavirus.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>These data provide the evidence that aetiology and not age determines diarrhoeal severity. The demonstration that diarrhoea was more severe in rotavirus-positive children supports the need for a rotavirus vaccine and for studies that address the duration of vaccine protection.
- Subjects
ITALY; GASTROENTERITIS in children; AGE factors in disease; ROTAVIRUS diseases; DIARRHEA in children; ETIOLOGY of diseases; COMPARATIVE studies; DEMOGRAPHY; GASTROENTERITIS; LENGTH of stay in hospitals; RESEARCH methodology; MEDICAL cooperation; RESEARCH; RETROVIRUS diseases; ROTAVIRUSES; EVALUATION research; SEVERITY of illness index
- Publication
European Journal of Pediatrics, 2007, Vol 166, Issue 3, p241
- ISSN
0340-6199
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1007/s00431-006-0237-6