Disorders of the Gastrointestinal System, 2nd Edition
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There are several causes of gastro- enteritis. The following are some of the most common: ● Bacteria : Several types of bacteria can cause gastroenteritis. Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter , and Clostridium perfringens are common organisms that can cause food poisoning and traveler’s diarrhea from contaminated food and unclean water, affecting up to 50% of people always result from traveling, as many people experience gastroenteritis caused by Clostridium difficile (Sattar & Singh, 2022). ● Parasites : Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium , the causative agents of giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis, respectively, are two well-known parasitic gastroenteritis infections that can be contracted by ingestion of infected water. Giardiasis can become chronic without treatment, but cryptosporidiosis is typically limited to two weeks (Leder et al., 2022). ● Viruses : Viral outbreaks, the most common form of gastroenteritis in the U.S., can spread rapidly via close contact or fomites. The most common causes are rotaviruses and noroviruses. Rotaviruses affect mostly children, but they can infect adults via contact with a child’s feces; noroviruses most commonly affect older children and adults (Alexandraki & Smetana, 2021). ● Medication reactions : Adverse reactions to drugs such as antibiotics traveling from an industrialized country to a developing country. Bacterial gastroenteritis does not
medications that contain heavy metals (Gotfried, 2022). ● Food allergies can also trigger gastroenteritis (Gonsalves, 2022). ● I ngestion of poisons or heavy metals : Poisonous substances and water contaminated with heavy metals such as lead and mercury can trigger gastroenteritis (Gotfried, 2022). | NURSING CONSIDERATION Noroviruses typically have an incuba- tion period of 12 to 48 hours, mean- ing no symptoms will occur during this time. However, the virus is infectious during the incubation period. So if one person develops norovirus symptoms, those in close contact during the 12 to 48 hours before symptoms began should be assessed, and further inter- actions with others should be limited (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2021). Signs and symptoms of gastroenteritis vary depending on the cause, age, and general health of the person affected. Typical symptoms include the following (Gotfried, 2022): ● Fever and chills (depending on the etiology of the infection). ● Nausea. Gastroenteritis is usually self-limiting with a complete recovery. However, seek- ing emergency medical attention in se- vere cases may be necessary. The patient should seek immediate medical attention if blood is present in vomit or stool; vom- iting or diarrhea lasts more than 48 hours; abdominal pain increases; signs of con- ● Vomiting. ● Diarrhea. ● Malaise.
may trigger gastroenteritis. Some common drugs that may cause a reaction include chemotherapy agents, antacids, laxatives, and
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