Gastroenteritis

General characteristic of a disease

The gastroenteritis is an inflammation of mucous membranes of a stomach and small intestine. In most cases the rotavirusny infection which is transmitted oral, fecal, household, food or the waterway brings to it. In that case inflammatory process affects also mucous stomatopharynxes.

At damage of a large intestine the disease is called a gastroenterocolitis. Depending on expressiveness of symptoms it is accepted to distinguish an acute gastroenteritis and its chronic form. In use the disease is quite often called an intestinal flu.

Mass cases of an acute gastroenteritis are recorded in official medical documents at the end of the 19th century. Today the disease still takes the second place on prevalence in socially unsuccessful regions of the earth. In the 1980th year more than 4.6 million people died of an acute gastroenteritis on the planet.

Thanks to modern standards of treatment of a gastroenteritis of an acute form the quantity of death managed to be reduced by 3 times today.

Gastroenteritis reasons

The activator of a gastroenteritis is the Reoviridae family rotavirus. There are several types this of a microorganism. Part of them cause inflammations mucous a stomach and a small bowel in people. Others are considered as typical activators of an acute gastroenteritis at animals and are not dangerous to the person.

The virus of an acute gastroenteritis serves as the reason of a so-called disease of travelers in a quarter of cases – acute poisoning and disorder of intestines.

Good survival in the conditions of the environment is characteristic of rotaviruses. The activator of an acute gastroenteritis is capable to keep up to 2 months the viability in tap water with a temperature over 20 ˚, on vegetables - up to 1 month and in excrements – up to 7 months.

Source of infection with a rotavirus often is the person. The first week of a disease is considered the most dangerous period. The next 10-30 days contageousness (probability to infect surrounding with an acute gastroenteritis) at the patient gradually decreases.

In rare instances the human body can excrete viruses several months later after a disease. Specific symptoms of a gastroenteritis at it at the same time are absent.

Acute gastroenteritis at children

Asymptomatic carriers of an infection come to light, as a rule, among adults. At children the gastroenteritis, on the contrary, proceeds in the most acute form.

Early detection of such asymptomatic carriers of an infection at schools, kindergartens and other institutions plays a huge role for prevention of an acute gastroenteritis at children. Children up to 3 years are most susceptible to viruses.

Gastroenteritis infection source at children about one year it becomes frequent mother. Carry kids with inborn diseases, various forms of an immunodeficiency to risk group or the children staying on artificial feeding.

Postinfectious immunity of a gastroenteritis is short.

Gastroenteritis symptoms

The disease begins sharply after an incubation interval lasting 1-5 days. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are considered as the earliest symptoms of a gastroenteritis.

At an easy form of a gastroenteritis vomiting can be single. It stops within the first days. However such symptom of a gastroenteritis of an acute form as diarrhea, is demonstrated up to 5-7 days. The Razzhizhyonny chair is observed to 6 times a day.

Patients with symptoms of a gastroenteritis complain also of feeling of weakness, pain in paraumbilical area, weight in a stomach, lack of appetite, and also a headache.

At a severe form of an acute gastroenteritis, at children in particular, a chair – fetid, liquid, foamy, with slime impurity till 12-15 once a day.

Diagnosis of a gastroenteritis

In time survey of the patient the doctor pays attention to the following clinical symptoms of a gastroenteritis:

• muscular weakness of the patient,
• the expressed noise of an intestinal vermicular movement,
• puffiness of a throat,
• white fur,
• priglushyonnost of cardiac sounds,
• subfebrile indicators of temperature (37,1-37,3 ˚).

At severe forms of an acute gastroenteritis heat and serious dehydration are possible, up to a circulatory unefficiency and an anury (the termination of production of urine).

Typical symptom of a gastroenteritis of a rotavirusny form is disease against the background of complications of respiratory tracts: development of pharyngitis, rhinitis or the mixed disease form.

Refer allocation of viruses in the patient's excrements by means of RLA, RKA, RSK, IFA-techniques, gel immunoprecipitation or an immunofluorescence to laboratory diagnostic methods of a gastroenteritis.

Treatment of a gastroenteritis

Effective etiotropic treatment of a gastroenteritis is absent. It means that the way of impact on a cause of illness is not known to modern medicine.

At early symptoms of a gastroenteritis carry to measures of first aid:

• abstention from food within 1-2 days,
• use of enough liquid,
• digestible diet after the acute period of a disease,
• refusal of nicotine,
• bed rest.

At an acute gastroenteritis at children of early age breastfeeding is recommended to be continued.

Carry polyfermental drugs to medicamentous methods of treatment of a gastroenteritis: Abamin, Polyzimum, Pancreatinum, Festal, etc., and also adsorbents and medicines with the knitting effect.

Intravenous drop administration of regidrant is applied to correction of water and electrolytic balance in treatment of a gastroenteritis of a severe form. Oral administration of plasma substituting and disintoxication solutions (Regidron, Refortnan, etc.) is applied at an acute gastroenteritis of an easy and average form.