Diet therapy features for children with acute gastroenteritis

In the structure of infectious diseases in children, acute intestinal infections are only inferior to respiratory infections. The World Health Organization considers the effectiveness of only two therapeutic interventions to be absolutely proven: oral or parenteral rehydration and diet therapy. The main indicator that assesses the severity of a child’s condition and determines the tactics to be followed is the degree of dehydration. The World Health Organization recommends calculating the percentage of child weight loss during the disease: up to 3% is a mild degree, more than 9% is a severe degree of dehydration. From a practical point of view, a more convenient method is the Clinical Dehydration Scale - assessment of the child’s appearance, skin and mucous membranes: 0 points - no dehydration, 1 to 4 points - mild dehydration, 5 to 8 points - medium and severe dehydration. The key to the treatment of patients with acute gastroenteritis, regardless of the etiology of the disease, is oral rehydration, which should be prescribed as early as possible. In the complex of therapeutic measures for acute intestinal infections diet therapy takes an important place, as infectious diseases lead to significant violations of the nutritional status of a sick child. Organization of proper nutrition in children with acute intestinal infections is important not only in the acute period of the disease to correct nutritional disorders, but also to prevent functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, which often develop in the postinfectious period. The authors cite data from a systematic review (19 studies) showing the frequency of registration of postinfectious functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome, and give the results of assessment of tolerability and effectiveness of industrial food products in acute intestinal infections in children