ABSTRACT
Our purpose was to find the utility of laboratory tests in emergency ward evaluation of patients with gastroenteritis. Medical records of 163 adult cases were retrospectively reviewed. Blood laboratory tests were drawn in 116 cases, 78 had at least one abnormality. Urine tested ketone-positive in 15 of 116 cases. One hundred fifteen were treated with intravenous fluids, 20 with antibiotics, and 4 were admitted. Fifty-eight stool cultures were sent, and 13 yielded enteric pathogens. Cultures from patients with fever or symptoms of long duration had higher yields (57% vs 11.3% and 38.1% vs 0%, P < 0.001, respectively), and when combined had sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 65%. There was no association between abnormal blood laboratory results, intravenous hydration, and antibiotic treatment with the stool culture being positive or with the patient being hospitalized. Laboratory tests are used often, but are very seldom contributory for evaluating domestically acquired gastroenteritis.
Subject(s)
Clinical Laboratory Techniques , Gastroenteritis/diagnosis , Acute Disease , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Feces/microbiology , Female , Gastroenteritis/blood , Gastroenteritis/microbiology , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
Quantitative cultures were carried out on samples from gastric juice obtained from 12 ambulatory patients with esophagitis before and one month after omeprazole therapy. An increase in the number of patients in whom gastric juice was culture-positive, as well as an increment in the bacterial counts were noted. The spectrum of microorganisms isolated from gastric juice was identical to the normal flora of the oral cavity, mainly alpha-hemolytic streptococci, corynebacteria, and Candida species. Thus, the counts of organisms within gastric contents are simply a reflection of swallowed oral microflora that were able to survive due to the less acidic environment.
