[Multicenter study on bacterial gastroenteritis in regional hospitals of the province of Barcelona. Group of Microbiologists of the Regional Hospitals of Catalonia].

A retrospective analysis of 26,901 coprocultures is reported. Of these, in 5,847 (21.7%) an enteric pathogen was isolated. The positivity rate in adults was 21.0%, and 22.1% in children. Statistically significant differences (p less than 0.001) were found in the number of overall isolates throughout the years for both age groups. The most common enteropathogen was Salmonella enterica spp I non typhi (59.4% of the isolates in children and 76.9% in adults). The rate of isolation of Campylobacter sp remained stable and represented 24.3% of isolates, with a higher incidence in children (30.4%). The frequency of Shigella spp was low (4.2%), with a small increment in 1987. The antibiotic sensitivity of Salmonella and Shigella are also reported.