CHILDHOOD BACTERIAL DIARRHEA IN A REGIONAL-HOSPITAL IN SAUDI-ARABIA -CLINICO-ETIOLOGIC FEATURES

Over a one-year period, 210 paediatric patients, who were admitted wit h acute diarrhoea to a regional hospital in the south-western region o f Saudi Arabia, were retrospectively reviewed for bacterial enteropath ogens. Bacterial pathogens were isolated from 66 (31.4%) patients, wit h Shigella being the most common (17.1%), followed by Salmonella (10.5 %), and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) (3.8%). Major clinica l findings associated with bacterial diarrhoea are similar to those re ported before. Our results suggest that bacterial pathogens constitute a major cause of acute childhood diarrhoea in hospitalized children i n Al-Baha province. Further prospective community based studies are ne eded to identify the pattern and risk factors of acute childhood diarr hoea in the region.