Viral gastroenteritis is a frequently encountered diarrhoeal disorder in general practice and emergency departments. Leung A.K. and Hon K.L. provided a narrative updated review on the evaluation and management of viral gastroenteritis in children.

They included clinical trials, meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, observational studies and reviews mentioning viral gastroenteritis in the paediatric population.

They found acute viral gastroenteritis to be usually self-limiting. But it can lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance if left untreated. Adequate fluids containing physiological concentrations of glucose and electrolytes are a must to compensate for gastrointestinal losses and cover maintenance needs. They also found Oral rehydration therapy to be as effective as intravenous (IV) fluid therapy for rehydration in children with mild-to-moderate dehydration. serumelectrolytes, creatinine and glucose studies should be done only in children with severe dehydration who require hospitalization and IV therapy. Using ondansetron wisely can increase the success rate of oral rehydration therapy and reduce the need for IV therapy and hospitalization.

They concluded by stating that Acute viral gastroenteritis causes substantial morbidity in developed countries and significant mortality in developing countries. The importance of proper personal hygiene and handwashing to prevent faecal to oral transmission of the pathogen and the importance of rotavirus vaccine in the prevention of rotavirus gastroenteritis should be advocated by the physician to the caregivers. 

The researchers also look forward to the development of an effective norovirus vaccine to further reduce the incidence of viral gastroenteritis.

Source: Leung AK, Hon KL. Paediatrics: how to manage viral gastroenteritis. Drugs Context. 2021;10:2020-11-7. Published 2021 Mar 26. doi:10.7573/dic.2020-11-7