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1. UNIVERSIDAD TECNICA DE MACHALA
ACADEMIC UNIT OF CHEMICAL
SCIENCES AND HEALTH
MEDICINE SCHOOL
ENGLISH
GASTROENTERITIS
STUDENTS
William Cruz
Kevin Herrera
Jorge Pacheco
Angie Chamba
Sonia Quijilema
TEACHER:
Mgs. Barreto Huilcapi Lina Maribel
CLASS:
EIGHTH SEMESTER ‘’A’’
Machala, El Oro
2018

2. Gastroenteritis
Definition
Gastroenteritis is inflammation of the stomach and intestines. The most frequent causes are:
 Virus.
 Food or water contaminated with bacteria or parasites.
 Reaction to a new food. Young children may have signs and symptoms for this
reason. Babies who breastfeed may react to a change in the mother's diet.
 Side effect of medications.
Etiology
Gastroenteritis can be caused by three types of microorganisms: viruses, parasites and
bacteria. These organisms, present in the feces of an infected person, can contaminate food
and drinks, as well as other objects (cutlery, dishes and other utensils), and are transmitted
when a person comes in contact with them. They can also be transmitted from one person

3. to another by direct contact. The risk groups most vulnerable to this disease are children,
the elderly and people with a weak immune system.
The most common viruses that cause gastroenteritis are:
Rotavirus: Rotavirus is the main cause of acute gastroenteritis in children, although it can
also infect adults.
Norovirus: It affects people of all ages, but its spread is very common among school-age
children.
Enteric adenovirus: Adenoviruses are the cause of a large proportion of cases of
gastroenteritis in young children and represent the second most common viral agent causing
diarrhea after rotavirus.
Astrovirus: They are recognized as another of the most common viral agents of
gastroenteritis in children worldwide. Initially they were associated with outbreaks of
diarrhea in children in maternity units.
Signs and symptoms
The main symptom of GEA is diarrhea with the appearance of stools of lesser consistency
and / or greater number, which may contain mucus and / or blood. Other symptoms that
may appear are: nausea, vomiting, colicky abdominal pain and fever. In general it is a self-
limiting process that usually resolves in a period of about 3 to 5 days (no more than 2
weeks), although sometimes it can be prolonged in time as a consequence of the
development of a lactose intolerance or a sensitization to the proteins of cow's milk. The
most important complication of the GEA is the
dehydration, being more frequent in infants due to its larger body surface area, higher
proportion of fluid (mainly extracellular), higher metabolic rate and its inability to request
water. According to the sodium levels, we can classify the
Dehydration in:
- Isonatremic (Na: 130-150 mEq / L): the most frequent in our environment (> 80%).
- Hypernatraemic (Na> 150 mEq / L): neurological symptoms with lower hypovolaemia
due to intracellular dehydration.
- Hyponatremic (Na <130 mEq / l): greater risk of shock.

4. To assess the degree of dehydration, the most useful data would be the determination of the
percentage of weight loss. But as in most cases we do not know the previous weight of the
child, there are several scales that are based on clinical and physical examination to classify
the degree of dehydration according to the percentage of the deficit.
Diagnosis
To diagnose the possible presence and typology of viruses that may be causing
gastroenteritis, a stool test is performed, although this is not usually the case. Although this
pathology is not fatal by itself, the dehydration it produces, if not enough liquid is ingested,
can cause death; this is why normally the specialist will look for signs of dehydration, such
as:
 Dry mouth.
 Dark yellow urine.
 Hollow eyes.
 Arterial hypotension.
 Sunken spots on the head (in the case of babies).
 Confusion.
 Vertigo.
The normal thing is that the gastroenteritis disappears in a few days without the need to
follow any treatment. However, it is very important to see the specialist if symptoms of
dehydration occur.
Treatment
The bases for the treatment of the GEA have recently been reviewed by the European
Society of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Pediatric Nutrition (ESPGHAN) in 2008:
- Use of oral rehydration solutions to correct dehydration.
- Use of a hypotonic solution (60 mmol / l of sodium and 74-111 mmol / l of glucose).
- Rapid oral rehydration: 3-4 hours.
- Precocious feedback, restarting a diet suitable for age, without restrictions, as soon as
dehydration is corrected.
- Maintenance of breastfeeding.

5. - In case of formula feeding, dilution or the use of special formulas (without lactose,
hydrolysates) is not recommended.
- Supplementation with oral rehydration solution for losses sustained due to diarrhea.
- Not performing laboratory tests or applying unnecessary medications.
Oral rehydration solutions (ORS) are the treatment of choice to replace water and
electrolyte losses caused by diarrhea in children with mild or moderate dehydration. This is
thanks to the fact that they have proven to be a safe, fast, inexpensive, non-aggressive
method that allows for the collaboration of family members.
Prevention
Specialists recommend taking precautions with products made with sauces that contain egg.
This food can have salmonella, that reproduces quickly if it spends a lot of time from the
moment of the elaboration until its consumption. This is what often happens in banquets or
celebrations in which many people participate. The food is prepared with time and can
occur cases of bulky poisoning. This same phenomenon occurs with fish and shellfish that
are eaten raw.
You must also take special care with the ice cream that is sold in mobile kiosks and
prepared by hand, since sometimes there is no guarantee that they are in good condition.
Many of them are made with milk and this food also spoils more easily in summer.
Much of the summer gastroenteritis, the period of excellence of the disease, is due to the
ingestion of untreated water. When traveling to places where water is drunk from wells or
sources, it is recommended that the water used to drink or clean foods that are not to be
cooked be boiled or sterilized with bleach (one drop of bleach per liter of water)".
Bibliography
 King CK, Glass R, Bresee JS, Duggan C. Managing acute gastroenteritis among
children: oral rehydration, maintenance, and nutritional therapy. MMWR Recomm
Rep 2003; 52: 1-16.
 Gavin N, Merrick N, Davidson B. Efficacy of glucose-based oral rehydration
therapy. Pediatrics 1996; 98; 45-51.
 Freedman SB, Adler M, Seshadri R, Powell EC. Oral ondansetron for gastroenteritis
in a pediatric emergency. N Engl J Med 2006; 354: 1698-705.