Introduction Acute gastroenteritis, though often considered a benign disease, remains a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality across the world, particularly in developing countries. The disease presents considerable burden on the community, being a major cause of visits to emergency departments, hospitalizations, investigations and prescription of drugs.1-4Bruzzese E, Lo Vecchio A, Guarino A. Hospital management of children with acute gastroenteritis. Curr Opin Gastroenterol. 2013 Jan;29(1):23-30.Leung AK, Robson WL. Acute gastroenteritis in children: role of anti-emetic medication for gastroenteritis-relatedvomiting. Paediatr Drugs. 2007;9(3):175-84.Elliott EJ. Acute gastroenteritis in children. BMJ. 2007 Jan 6;334(7583):35-40.Heyworth JS, Baghurst P, Mc caul KA. Prevalence of gastroenteritis among 4-year-old children in South Australia. Epidemiol. Infect. 2003;130:443-451. Importantly, gastroenteritis represents inflammation of the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract, and the syndrome is characterized by vomiting and/or diarrhea, often accompanied by abdominal pain, fever, and anorexia.5Webb A, Starr M. Acute gastroenteritis in children. Aust Fam Physician. 2005 Apr;34(4):227-31. …
Introduction Symptomatic urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a major public health concern given that UTIs are amongst the most frequent bacterial infections seen in community and healthcare settings, with wideranging severity patterns.1Wagenlehner FM, Vahlensieck W, Bauer HW, et al. Primary and secondary prevention of urinary tract infections. Urologe A. 2011 Oct;50(10):1248, 1250-2, 1254-6. ,2Lane DR, Takhar SS. Diagnosis and management of urinary tract infection and pyelonephritis. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2011;29(3):539-52. These infections can be stratified into uncomplicated and complicated, and such stratification has proven to be clinically useful.3Wagenlehner FM, Naber KG. Treatment of bacterial urinary tract infections: presence and future. Eur Urol. 2006 Feb;49(2):235-44. Individuals at increased risk of infection include women, diabetics, the immunocompromised, and those with anatomic abnormalities, impaired mobility, incontinence, advanced age, and instrumentation.4Litza JA, Brill JR. Urinary tract infections. Prim Care. 2010 Sep;37(3):491-507, viii. Etiology of UTIs The infectious course in UTIs is determined by bacterial…
