Treatment of acute gastroenteritis in children: an overview of systematic reviews of interventions commonly used in developed countries
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is an extremely common paediatric condition, which results in significant morbidity in children and is a financial burden to the society.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this overview is to critically evaluate the evidence currently available in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) regarding the efficacy and safety of commonly considered treatment options in children with AGE.
METHODS: All Cochrane reviews evaluating the following treatments in children with AGE were eligible for inclusion: oral rehydration therapy, anti-emetics and probiotics. We excluded those focusing on the treatment of antibiotic associated or nosocomial diarrhoea, persistent (chronic) diarrhoea and the prevention of gastroenteritis. We focused on the following outcomes that were selected a priori as clinically important: rate of admission to the hospital; length of stay in hospital; rate of return visits; administration of intravenous (IV) therapy owing to failure of oral rehydration therapy; adverse events and dysnatremia.
MAIN RESULTS: Children who received oral rehydration therapy had a shorter length of stay in hospital compared with children who received IV therapy [mean difference, MD = -1.20 days (-2.38, -0.02)]; however, the result was no longer significant when an outlying study was removed. Children who received IV therapy were at increased risk of developing phlebitis [risk difference, RD= - 0.02 (-0.04, -0.01)], while paralytic ileus was more…
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