Campylobacteriosis: from diagnosis to the community intervention, a case-control study

Abstract

Introduction: Campylobacteriosis is the most frequent cause of acute bacterial diarrhea and its rising incidence in Europe is of concern. Guidelines for etiological investigation in acute infectious diarrhea and their impact on therapeutic conduct and community interventions are yet to be defined. Materials and Methods: We viewed 5 years of the Pediatric Emergency Department´s stool cultures. The case group included 207 patients with Campylobacteriosis and the control group 276 patients with a negative stool culture. We evaluated the execution rate of Mandatory Notification and the diligence performed by Public Health Authorities. Results: In the case group, the median age was 2 years, 59.90% of patients were males and 68.60% were residents in rural areas. The bloody stool was significantly more frequent in the case group (78.26% vs. 30.80%, OR 8.09) and so was the presence of fever (65.22% vs. 39.86%, OR 2.83). In the case of group, 8.70% were admitted to in-patient facilities. The readmission rate in the subsequent 7 days was 17.87%, 45.95% of which with alterations to the previously chosen therapeutic conduct. The notification was performed in 37.63% of all Campylobacteriosis, translating most frequently isolated cases in the intervention area of the studied Health Authority. The most frequent diligence was sanitary education. In the group of patients whose notification was not performed, reinfection happened twice. Conclusion: Campylobacteriosis is in most cases a benign and self-limited disease. The isolation of the agent in the stool culture still plays a role in the management of the therapeutic conduct and the methods of community control.

Keywords

• Campylobacteriosis. Diarrhea. Public Health.