Diarrhea

Question 1

Acute vs Persistent vs Chronic Diarrhea times

Answer 1

Acute<14 days
Persistant 14-30
Chronic >30 days

Question 2

Severe vs Invasive diarrhea

Answer 2

Severe: >4 fluid stools/day for >3 days
Invasive: with visible blood)

Question 3

Most common etiology of acute diarrhea

Answer 3

VIRUS: Vibrio Cholerae, Norovirus, Rotavirus, Adenoviruses,
Astrovirus, COVID-19 and others
BACTERIA: Salmonella, Campylobacter, Shigella,
Enterotoxigenic E. coli, C. difficile, and others
PROTOZOA: Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Cyclospora,
Entamoeba, and others

Question 4

Drugs causes acute diarrhea

Answer 4

anti-HTN, ticlopidine, metformin, iron supplements, mannitol, sorbitol, MgSalt

Question 5

Timing of food exposure vs symptoms

Answer 5

Within 6 hours: ingestion of a preformed toxin
(S. aureus of Bacillus cereus)
8-16 hours: Clostridium perfringes
> 16 hours: viral or bacterial infection (es. E. Coli)

Question 6

When do you perform stool cultures

Answer 6

bloody diarrhea
immunocompromised pt
underlying IBD
pt with comorbidities

Question 7

Salmonella poisioning hits

Answer 7

8-72 hours after ingestion

Question 8

When does E.coli poisoning occur

Answer 8

eating raw contaminated foods. Note that symptoms will start after 3-4 days of incubatoin

Question 9

L. monocytogenes is an important pathogen for who

Answer 9

neonates, immunocompromised, pregnant women, elderly

Question 10

Most common cause of gastroenteritis in children and adults is

Answer 10

Norovirus, rotavirus

Question 11

TX for diarrhea

Answer 11

hydration
rest
loperamide (DONT GIVE TO DYSENTRY PTS)
bismuth salicates

Question 12

Salmonella tx in immunocompromised pts

Answer 12

ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim/Sulphamethoxazole, amoxillin, ceftriaxone