Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going

to be talking to you about gastroenteritis. And if you want to follow along with written notes on this

topic, you can follow along at zerodefinals.com slash gastroenteritis or in the gastroenterology section

of the Zero Defininals pediatrics book.

So let's get straight into it.

Acute gastritis refers to inflammation of the stomach and this presents with nausea and vomiting.

Enteritis refers to inflammation of the intestines and presents with diarrhea.

Gastroenteritis is inflammation all the way from the stomach to the intestines and it presents with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Gastroenteritis

is very common in children. Viral gastroenteritis is the most common cause. It's very easy to spread and patients presenting

with gastroenteritis often have an affected family member or contact. It's essential to isolate the

patient in any healthcare environment, such as a pediatric assessment unit or hospital ward,

as it can be very easy for them to spread gastroenteritis to other

patients. The main concern in children with gastroenteritis is dehydration. The key to managing

the condition is to establish whether they're able to keep themselves hydrated or whether they need

admission for IV fluids. Antibiotics are generally not recommended or

required. Most children make a full recovery with simple supportive management, but beware that

gastroenteritis can potentially be fatal, especially in very young or vulnerable children with other

health conditions. Diarrhea has a few differential diagnosis.

Loose stools are a common complaint and not all cases are caused by gastroenteritis.

Stools from normal healthy babies can vary from loose several times a day to one form stool per week.

Steteria means greasy stools with excessive fat content,

and this suggests a problem with digesting fats,

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