title: Epidemiological and clinical profiles of acute invasive diarrhoea with special reference to mucoid episodes: a rural community-based longitudinal study.
abstract: A study was carried out in 3 villages near Calcutta, India, having a population of 5464, between August 1992 and December 1994. A cohort of rural children below 4 years of age was prospectively observed to determine the clinico-epidemiological aspects of mucoid diarrhoea and examine propensity to invasiveness. Overall, the incidence of diarrhoea was 1.7 episodes/child/year, and that of mucoid and bloody dysentery was 0.8 and 0.2 episodes/child/year, respectively. Children aged 6-11 months had a higher incidence of mucoid diarrhoea (1.3 episodes/child/year) and the peak season occurred in June and July. Multivariate analysis using logistic regression showed that mucoid diarrhoea and bloody dysentery were closely similar in both clinical and laboratory findings, including raised faecal leucocyte count (> 10/high power microscope field [hpf]). However, abdominal pain occurred more frequently in bloody dysentery than in mucoid diarrhoea. Faecal leucocyte count (> 10/hpf) can therefore be used as an indicator for invasiveness of mucoid diarrhoea at the community level.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Beliaghata, Calcutta, India.
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Sircar
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Sengupta
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Banu
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Mondal
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Saha
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: De
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Sikdar
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Manna
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dutta
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Saha
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004404:Dysentery, Amebic / Q000453:epidemiology; D004405:Dysentery, Bacillary / Q000453:epidemiology; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009093:Mucus; D009780:Occult Blood; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012621:Seasons