Practice Guidelines for the Management of Infectious Diarrhea

Abstract

One to two times a year every person in the United States has an episodic increase in the water content of their normal bowel movement, which then leads to an increase in the volume, frequency, or liquidity of their stools. It has been estimated that in the United States people have these diarrheal episodes up to 375 million times each year, resulting in 73 million physician consultations, 1.8 million hospitalizations, and 3100 deaths. When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveyed a population about their diarrheal illness, an estimated 31% used an antidiarrheal medication, 12% telephoned the physician or provider’s office, 8% visited a physician’s or other provider’s office, 5% used an antimicrobial agent, and 0.6% were hospitalized. In addition to the acute morbidity and mortality of diarrhea, some causes of infectious diarrhea result in serious long-term sequelae such as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) with renal failure, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and malnutrition.