Bacterial gastroenteritis

• Illustrations
• Alternative names
• Definition
• Causes, incidence, and risk factors
• Symptoms
• Signs and tests

• Treatment
• Expectations (prognosis)
• Complications
• Calling your health care provider
• Prevention

Alternative names    Return to top

Definition    Return to top

Bacterial gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the stomach and intestines caused by bacteria or bacterial toxins. (Also see food poisoning.)

Causes, incidence, and risk factors    Return to top

Many different types of bacteria can produce the symptoms associated with bacterial gastroenteritis including salmonella, shigella, staphylococcus, Campylobacter jejuni, clostridium, E. coli, yersinia, and others. Some sources of the infection are improperly prepared food, reheated meat dishes, seafood, dairy, and bakery products. Each organism causes slightly different symptoms but all result in diarrhea. Colitis, inflammation of the large intestine, may also be present.

Risk factors are consumption of improperly prepared foods or contaminated water and travel or residence in areas of poor sanitation. The incidence is 1 in 1,000 people.

Related topics:

• Salmonella enteritis
• Shigella enteritis
• Staph aureus food poisoning
• Campylobacter enteritis
• E. coli enteritis
• Food poisoning

Symptoms    Return to top

• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Loss of appetite
• Abdominal pain
• Abdominal cramps
• Bloody stools

Signs and tests    Return to top

• Stool culture positive for causative organism
• White blood cells on fecal smear
• Examination of food for toxin and bacteria

• Stool gram stain
• Fecal smear

Treatment    Return to top

The objective of treatment is to replace fluids and electrolytes (salt and minerals) lost by diarrhea. Blood transfusions are rarely required.

Antibiotic or antimicrobial therapy is usually not indicated unless systemic involvement is present. Antidiarrheal medications are generally not given because they may prolong the infectious process.

Self-care measures to avoid dehydration include drinking electrolyte solutions to replace fluids lost by diarrhea and eating no solid food until the diarrhea has passed. People with diarrhea who are unable to take oral fluids due to nausea may need medical attention and intravenous fluids, especially young children. People taking diuretics need to be cautious with diarrhea and may need to stop taking the medication during an acute episode as directed by the health care provider.

Expectations (prognosis)    Return to top

With most infections, symptoms improve with fluid and electrolyte replacement within a week. There are rare cases of patients with renal failure and even death due to the infection.

Complications    Return to top

• Systemic infection
• Dehydration
• Anemia (low blood counts)
• Kidney failure (rare)

Calling your health care provider    Return to top

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if diarrhea recurs or persists for more than a week, or if there is blood in stools. Infants and young children become dehydrated more rapidly than adults. Call your provider if your child develops any signs of dehydration, even if it is only a few hours since the onset of illness.

Prevention    Return to top

Proper handling, storage, and preparation of food -- in addition to good sanitation -- are principles of prevention.