A year's experience of the rotavirus syndrome and its association with respiratory illness.
In a hospital study rotavirus was identified in 51% of 152 children with diarrhoea. These patients showed a clinical pattern that was distinct from patients in whom the diarrhoea was associated with bacteria, other viruses, or no pathogens. A respiratory illness was described in 66% of rotavirus patients and usually preceded the gastrointestinal symptoms. Vomiting lasted between one and 3 days and was curtailed by substituting the normal diet with clear fluids. Watery diarrhoes continued for 4 or 5 days, even when rehydration was by the intravenous rather than the oral route. Prolonged diarrhoea was rare. Most children infected with rotavirus were under 2 years of age, but dehydration was most severe in infants aged between 12 and 18 months. A clinician can thus recognise the rotavirus syndrome and expect spontaneous recovery if adequate rehydration is maintained for a critical few days.
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012621:Seasons; D013577:Syndrome; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D014839:Vomiting / Q000150:complications