Ultrasonography findings and symptoms in acute rotavirus gastroenteritis

Background: The aim of the present study was to better understand how clinical events in acute rotavirus gastroenteritis are depicted on ultrasonography. Methods: The relationship between abdominal ultrasonography and clinical course and symptoms was evaluated in 92 patients with acute rotavirus gastroenteritis (51 boys, 41 girls) with an average age of 30.7 +/- 24.6 months. Results: Significant correlations were observed between ultrasonography score and duration of illness after ultrasonography (P = 0.0232). It was also interesting that ultrasonography findings (score: 3.1 +/- 1.0 vs 3.6 +/- 1.2; P = 0.0118), clinical symptoms (3.1 +/- 1.7 score vs 3.8 +/- 1.8 score, P = 0.0293), and duration of illness after ultrasonography (4.4 +/- 1.4 days vs 3.8 +/- 1.1 days, P = 0.0301) were significantly different between patients examined on ultrasonography < 1 day after illness onset (n = 50, but duration of illness after ultrasonography followed only in 42) and those examined >= 2 days after onset (n = 42, but duration of illness after ultrasonography followed only in 35). Conclusion: The ability of abdominal ultrasonography to indicate severity of disease makes abdominal ultrasonography an important guide to therapy.