title: Homecare issues in rotavirus gastroenteritis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article will describe the burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis (RGE) and its management, highlighting educational issues that nurse practitioners can assist caregivers to enhance at-home management.
  
  
  METHODS
  A Medline search of the medical literature was used to identify articles that describe the burden, clinical presentation, and management of RGE.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RGE is a serious medical condition characterized by diarrhea and vomiting and is a major cause of morbidity and hospitalization among children aged 5 years or younger. Proper at-home treatment can be challenging; however, improved home care may limit emergency department visits and hospitalizations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mild to moderate RGE may be successfully managed at home if caregivers are adequately educated in deciding when a child needs to be evaluated in a physician's office and in managing dehydration at home.
authors.affiliation: Suffolk County Department of Health Services, Department of Health Services, Hauppauge, New York 11787, USA. marybeth.petraco@suffolkcountyny.gov
authors.forename: Mary Beth
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Koslap-Petraco
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002654:Child Care / Q000379:methods; D003681:Dehydration / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005440:Fluid Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006701:Home Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods; D009017:Morbidity; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000458:organization & administration*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education*; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014611:Vaccination