Risk factors for infection in children with gastrointestinal symptoms in Vietnam.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the prevalence and risk factors associated with infection in Vietnamese children.

METHODS

Children under 16 years old with gastrointestinal symptoms underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy and infection was diagnosed using rapid urease test.

RESULTS

A total of 246 children with gastrointestinal symptoms were included. The mean age was 8.4 ± 2.6 years. A total 81.3% tested positive for Children infected with had a lower rate of nausea but a higher rate of lesions in the duodenal bulb and nodular lesions than children without infection (26.5% vs 45.6%, <0.01; 40.0% vs 23.9%; = 0.04; and 68.5% vs 30.3%, <0.0001, respectively). Compared with children aged under 5 years, children aged 11 years and older were four times more likely to be infected with , with odds ratio (OR) 3.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-11.39, = 0.04. Washing hands with soap was associated with a reduced risk of infection by three times (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.17-0.69, = 0.002). Children living in a family where members had a history of infection were nine times more likely to be infected with (OR 8.87, 95% CI 1.15-68.45, = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of infection in Vietnamese children with gastroenteritis is high. Our results identified several risk factors and emphasize the role of handwashing with soap before eating and after using the toilet in reducing the risk of infection in children.