Gastrointestinal infections in Singapore children.

Acute gastroenteritis is the commonest gastrointestinal disorder in children. It accounted for about 10% of the admissions to a general paediatric unit in Singapore. About 5% of total paediatric admissions to all the government hospitals in Singapore were due to acute gastroenteritis. Some 50% of the cases had no identifiable organism in the stools. Most of the remaining cases were due to bacterial or viral infections. The commonest bacteria responsible for acute gastroenteritis nowadays is Salmonella species. Other bacteria such as E. coli, Shigella and Campylobacter were responsible for a smaller proportion of bacterial diarrhoea in children. Rotavirus was the commonest viral agent responsible for acute diarrhoea among Singapore children. Most patients had mild diarrhoea and severe dehydration following acute gastroenteritis was not common. About 60% of the patients admitted to hospital were younger than two years of age. Bacterial infections were more common in infancy. Viral diarrhoea were more likely to be watery and bacterial diarrhoea were more likely to be bloody and mucoid. With regard to chronicity, it was the groups with mixed infection or bacteria infection which had a prolonged course. Treatment was directed at maintaining hydration and prevention of complications. Except for secondary lactase deficiency, other long term complications were rare.