Clinical Characteristics and Ultrasonographic Findings of Acute Bacterial Enterocolitis in Children.

Purpose: This study clarified the bacterial pathogens currently causing acute infectious enterocolitis (AIE) in children and evaluated the clinical characteristics and ultrasonographic findings according to the different pathogens.

Methods: Medical records regarding age, sex, clinical symptoms, laboratory data, identified enteropathogens, ultrasonographic findings, treatment, and outcome of 34 patients who were diagnosed with AIE via stool examination using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or culture, were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: Twenty-four patients (70.6%) were male. The mean age of the patients was 8.5±6.2 (range, 1.1-17.1) years. Six bacterial pathogens were isolated: species (spp.) (32.4%), spp. (20.6%), verotoxin-producing (14.7%), (11.8%), (8.8%), and spp. (2.9%). Abdominal pain occurred in all patients regardless of pathogen. The patients infected with were older than those infected with verotoxin-producing (<0.05). C-reactive protein levels were higher in patients with and infections than in those with verotoxin-producing infection (<0.05), the other clinical and laboratory data were indistinguishable between pathogens. Ultrasonography demonstrated diverse involvement of bowel segments according to pathogen. Wall thickening of both the ileum and the entire colon was the most common lesion site regardless of pathogen.

Conclusion: Various bacterial agents cause AIE and the symptoms are diverse symptoms, however, all most children recovered spontaneously. Use of multiplex PCR on stool samples warrants improvement of its sensitivity for diagnosis of enteropathogenic bacteria. Ultrasonographic examination is useful for diagnosis of AIE; it can also detect the disease extent and severity.