Diarrhées aiguës infectieuses

de Truchis, Pierre; de Truchis, Anne

Acute infectious diarrhea has various causes: bacterial diarrhea with invasive or toxigenic mechanisms, especially frequent in hot regions and in travelers; viral diarrheas, frequent and cosmopolitan in children but also adults; and parasitic diarrhea, less frequent, and generally in subtropical areas. The major concerns involve the risk of complications, essentially dehydration and malnutrition, especially in vulnerable patients: young children, the elderly, and patients with immunosuppression, for whom rehydration is urgent. Diagnosis of diarrhea requires clinical assessment and history: underlying illnesses, severity of symptoms, presence and extent of dehydration and other clinical symptoms, travel history, known outbreaks, and pathogenic mechanism (invasive or toxigenic). Initial therapy should always include oral or parenteral rehydration; antimotility agents are generally not indicated; specific antibiotic treatment is not systematically indicated, except for invasive or dysenteric diarrhea and in immunosuppressed patients.