Emergency Medical Minute

Contributor: Meghan Hurley, MD Educational Pearls: Gastroenteritis clinical diagnoses: Diarrhea with or without vomiting and fever Vomiting in the absence of diarrhea has a large list of differential diagnoses, so the combination of diarrhea and vomiting in a patient is helpful to indicate the gastroenteritis diagnosis Symptom timeline is usually 1-3 days, but can last up to 14 days – diarrhea persists the longest Treatment for mild to moderate dehydration: oral or IV rehydration Begin orally to avoid unnecessary IV in a pediatric patient Administer ODT Ondansetron (Zofran) to prevent vomiting Meta-analysis showed that 2-8 mg orally, based on body weight, decreased vomiting quickly Wait 15-20 minutes for the medication to take effect Use streamlined method for oral rehydration: Fluids such as over-the-counter Pedialyte, Infalyte, Rehydrate, Resol, and Naturalyte may be used If patient weighs less than 10kg: administer 5mL of fluid per minute for 20 minutes If patient weighs 10k