[Diarrhea in 1,337 children of the Mainz University Clinic: Importance of Salmonella and rotaviruses].

In Germany, infectious diseases cause little mortality, but they are responsible for a large proportion of morbidity. In order to obtain data about the relevance of infectious diarrhea, the charts of 1337 outpatients, hospitalized for this disorder in the time between 1986-1989 at the Children's Hospital, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, were analyzed. Sixty-seven percent of patients were younger than one year. An offending organism could be isolated in 42.1% of patients, with Rotaviruses being the leading cause of diarrhea (415 cases), followed by Salmonella spp. (130 cases). Rotavirus-disease was mainly seen in winter, Salmonella-disease in late summer and in autumn. Severe courses of diarrhea were rare, no patient died. Mean duration of hospitalization was 7 days, independent from the offending organism. Infectious diarrhea is a common disorder in children in Germany, which may lead to hospitalization especially during infancy. Additional epidemiological studies are needed in order to develop effective control measures.