Diagnostic yield and pathogen spectrum in pediatric gastroenteritis: A syndromic approach using multiplex PCR in South India.

Infectious gastroenteritis (IGE) is a major cause of pediatric morbidity in India. Conventional diagnostic methods often fail to identify the complete spectrum of enteric pathogens, resulting in empirical antimicrobial use. We analyzed 30 stool samples from children ≤5 years with acute diarrhea using the BioFire FilmArray Gastrointestinal (GI) Panel. Pathogens were detected in 73.3% of samples, with bacterial pathogens predominating, particularly Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (33.3%) and Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (20.0%). Rotavirus A (16.7%) was the most common viral pathogen. Co-infections occurred in 46.7% of positive cases, highlighting the value of rapid syndromic molecular testing for accurate diagnosis.