SUMMARY APPROACH
1. Assess for, and manage, Dehydration 2. Consider work-up as below 3. Empiric Antibiotics for bloody diarrhea (while studies pending) 4. Bloody diarrhea: also consider test for O157:H7 Shiga toxin 5. Order C. difficile assay if antibiotics or hospitalization in last month 6. Rarely need O&PObtain Stool Culture & Sensitivity, and C. difficile Toxin Assay If:
|
|
Consider Stools for Giardia Angtigen or O&P if:
- 3rd World Travel: Giardia, Ameba, Cyclospora
- Travel to Russia: Giardia
- Wilderness hiking: Giardia
- Men-having-Sex-with-Men MSM): Giardia
- Bloody Diarrhea + 3rd World Travel or MSM: Ameba
- AIDS / severely immunocompromised: All of above
- Community Outbreak: Giardia, Cryptosporidium
MICROBIOLOGIC ETIOLOGY OF DIARRHEA
Small Intestine Pathogens Viruses
|
Large Intestine Pathogens Virus
* = AIDS-related pathogens (Cryptosporidium also affects immunocompetent persons) |
.