A Clinico-Epidemiological Comparison Study of Pediatric Acute Viral Gastroenteritis at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Background: Acute viral gastroenteritis is a common illness in young children. Rotavirus, norovirus and enteric adenovirus are the major agents for viral gastroenteritis. Their detection rates have gradually increased in Korea. Our aim was to monitor the epidemiologic characteristics of the aforementioned viruses and to determine the laboratory and clinical characteristics of pediatric patients infected with these viruses. Methods: From December 2009 to November 2010, 685 stool specimens from patients hospitalized at Chung-Ang University Hospital were tested for the aforementioned viruses using multiplex PCR. A corresponding medical record review was retrospectively conducted. Results: The overall prevalence rate was 44.8%, with rates of 16.3%, 1.9%, 22.7%, 3.1%, and 0.8% for rotavirus, norovirus genogroup I, norovirus genogroup II, enteric adenovirus, and astrovirus, respectively. Mixed virus infections were detected in 37 patients (5.4%). The highest incidence rates occurred in March 2010 (18.9%), in the 13-24 month age group (38.1%), and in males (53.1%). Fever and chills were most frequently observed in patients with adenovirus (44.4%) than other viruses, while diarrhea was most frequently observed in patients with rotavirus (93.7%). Leukocytosis (55.0%) and lymphocytosis (21.0%) were more common in the norovirus-infected group than other viruses-infected group. Conclusion: Our results show different prevalence rates and clinical findings for each gastroenteritis-associated virus. To better understand the clinico-epidemiological features observed in this study, further epidemiologic and clinical investigations are needed.