Open AccessEffect of Definitions of Acute Gastroenteritis Episodes Using Symptom Diaries in Paediatric Cohorts
Author(s) -
Mihala Gabor,
Grimwood Keith,
Morley Carla,
Lambert Stephen B.,
Ware Robert S.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.206
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1536-4801
pISSN - 0277-2116
DOI - 10.1097/mpg.0000000000002584
Subject(s) - medicine , observational study , pediatrics , incidence (geometry) , cohort study , cohort , acute gastroenteritis , vomiting , prospective cohort study , physics , optics
ABSTRACT Estimates of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) burden are difficult to compare between studies because of inconsistent definitions describing this illness. AGE definitions used in prospective, community‐based childhood cohort studies were identified by searching databases for studies that collected daily observations of AGE symptoms. Disease definitions and refractory periods were extracted. Data from the Australian community‐based Observational Research in Childhood Infectious Diseases birth cohort were used to calculate AGE incidence and duration using identified AGE definitions, and the World Health Organization definition for diarrhoea. Eight distinct AGE definitions were identified. All included loose stools and 7 included vomiting as symptoms. The refractory period separating episodes ranged from 1 to 21 days. When applied to the Observational Research in Childhood Infectious Diseases dataset, AGE incidence ranged from 0.8 to 2.6 episodes per child‐year‐at‐risk, a 3‐fold relative difference. Direct comparisons of rates from different cohorts can only be undertaken if a standard definition for AGE is adopted.