Recognition Of Diarrhea Research Articles

Sociodemographic and clinical factors affecting recognition of childhood diarrhea by mothers in Kwara State, Nigeria

Early diagnosis of infant and child diarrhea by family members is the key to timely treatment. Factors that influence the caregiver's recognition of diarrhea have not been systematically studied, but may include characteristics of the caregiver, the child, or the illness itself. This paper examines the relationships between the caregivers' diagnoses of diarrhea during the previous 24 hr and the reported frequency and consistency of their children's bowel movements during the same period of time, using information from a representative sample of 2655 children less than 3 years of age in Kwara State, Nigeria. Diarrheal point prevalence based on maternal diagnosis (10.0%) was about half that based on the clinical criteria of three or more liquid or semi-liquid stools (18.8%). Only 36% of the mothers recognized a recent episode of diarrhea defined by the clinical criteria. Mothers were more likely to recognize diarrhea when a greater number of stools of watery consistency were excreted or when the stools contained blood or mucus. Mothers were least likely to recognize diarrhea when the child was a girl or less than 2 months of age. These results suggest that cross-cultural comparisons of diarrheal rates should use consistent, objective evidence of illness to compare rates rather than maternal diagnosis alone. Also, diarrheal disease control programs should explore those factors affecting recognition of illness in local contexts to assure that treatment recommendations can be applied in a timely fashion.

EMETIN DIARRHEA —CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL

It is well known that, in large doses, emetin hydrochlorid gives rise to a hemorrhagic gastro-enteritis in experimental animals. That it produces a bloody diarrhea not rarely in the course of its clinical use is coming to be recognized, though in an exhaustive review of the literature published last year 1 only seven cases were collected. A number of unpublished cases occurring in China have come to our attention through personal communications. It seems to us to present a real danger, well worth more discussion that it has received. The difficulty in the recognition of diarrhea from emetin, as well as its danger, is due to the fact that it occurs in the course of treatment for amebic dysentery and that the symptoms and the gross appearance of the stools in emetin diarrhea are almost indistinguishable from those in amebic dysentery. The patient receives daily doses of emetin and for a