Abstract

Objective: In our study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of rotavirus and enteric adenovirus in stool samples sent to our laboratory for antigen detection of children between 0-18 years of age admitted to hospital with diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting and fever and diagnosed as gastroenteritis. We also analyzed their frequencies according to demographic parameters.

Methods: Results of 5156 pediatric patients admitted to Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Faculty of Medicine Hospital and diagnosed as gastroenteritis between January 2013-December 2015 were investigated retrospectively. VIKIA® Rota-Adeno (bioMérieux, Marcy l'Etoile, France), a chromatographic immunoassay detecting both viruses simultaneously was used according to the manufacturer's recommendations in stool samples.

Results: Viral antigens were detected in 884 (17.1%) of the total 5156 samples. 764 (14.8%) of the positive results were detected as rotavirus and 120 (2.3%) were detected as adenovirus. Of the patients with positive results, 412 (46.6%) were female and 472 (53.4%) were male. When results are considered according to age, 2-4 age group was found to have the most common positivity (n=372) as 42.1%. Seasonal distribution of acute gastroenteritis cases was analyzed and the number of cases due to rotavirus was found to be increased in winter and spring and enteric adenoviruses were detected all year round.

Conclusions: Rotavirus is the most common reason of gastroenteritis in the newborn and children, which must be considered for patients with diarrhea especially in the first four years of life. Rapid diagnosis is important for prediction of clinical implications and treatment. As enteric adenovirus is an important reason of gastroenteritis in infancy and childhood, it is necessary to investigate adenovirus antigens as well. Conducting regional studies are important for contributing to epidemiological data.