THE THERAPEUTIC APPROACH OF ACUTE DIARRHEIC DISEASE IN PEDIATRIC PATIENT

Objectives. Approaching acute diarrheal disease (ADD) in pediatric patient, we have set as a primary objective a throughout evaluation of etiology and risk factors and, on the other hand the risk/benefit assessment regarding the justification of antibiotic therapy in the treatment of ADD in pediatric patient. Material and method. We performed an analytic, descriptive study, in which we included 125 patients admitted in the 1st Pediatrics Clinic of Tg. Mureș during 2016 (January to December), diagnosed with ADD. Results. The study group comprised 125 patients, out of which a bacterial etiology was noticed in 23 cases (18.4%). On the other hand, it was observed that 84 patients received antibiotics (67.2%), 110 patients (88%) received symptomatic treatment, and in 60% of the cases (75 patients), a probiotic was associated. The medium hospitalization length was of 5 days, depending on the presence/absence of risk factors such as fever, inflammatory syndrome, hydro-electrolytical imbalances or acute dehydration syndrome, risk factors that increased the medium hospitalization length with up to 2 days (p < 0.05). Conclusions. Antibiotics must be used rationally and justified in the treatment of ADD, analyzing carefully the risk/benefit ratio. Taking into account the self-limiting character and the favorable prognosis of this disorder, we conclude that we face an abuse of antibiotics in case of pediatric patients diagnosed with ADD