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Rotavirus

OVERVIEW

  • Rotavirus is the leading cause of gastroenteritis worldwide and a leading cause of infant death in the developing world.
  • 95% of U.S. children have had a rotavirus infection by the age of 5 years.
  • Most cases occur in late winter and early spring.

CAUSE

  • Route of transmission is mostly fecal-oral but may be airborne in cooler months.

CLINICAL FEATURES

  •  fever (1/3 of cases)
  • vomiting (in the first 1-2 days)
  • diarrhea (copious, watery, lasting 5-21 days)

Complications (unusual)

  • hepatitis
  • pneumonitis
  • encephalopathy

INVESTIGATIONS

  • usually a clinical diagnosis
  • antigen assays useful for surveillance, isolation/ cohorting in hospital and if complications present

MANAGEMENT

Treatment

  • supportive care
  •  maintain hydration (ORS is the mainstay)

Prevention

  • key to disease control
  • good hand hygiene
  •  vaccination — effective in decreasing hospitalizations and deaths in developing countries.

References and Links

  • Cox, Elaine and Christenson, John. Rotavirus. Pediatrics in Review. 2012; 33 (10): 439 – 447.

CCC 700 6

Critical Care

Compendium

Chris is an Intensivist and ECMO specialist at the Alfred ICU in Melbourne. He is also a Clinical Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University. He is a co-founder of the Australia and New Zealand Clinician Educator Network (ANZCEN) and is the Lead for the ANZCEN Clinician Educator Incubator programme. He is on the Board of Directors for the Intensive Care Foundation and is a First Part Examiner for the College of Intensive Care Medicine. He is an internationally recognised Clinician Educator with a passion for helping clinicians learn and for improving the clinical performance of individuals and collectives.

After finishing his medical degree at the University of Auckland, he continued post-graduate training in New Zealand as well as Australia’s Northern Territory, Perth and Melbourne. He has completed fellowship training in both intensive care medicine and emergency medicine, as well as post-graduate training in biochemistry, clinical toxicology, clinical epidemiology, and health professional education.

He is actively involved in in using translational simulation to improve patient care and the design of processes and systems at Alfred Health. He coordinates the Alfred ICU’s education and simulation programmes and runs the unit’s education website, INTENSIVE.  He created the ‘Critically Ill Airway’ course and teaches on numerous courses around the world. He is one of the founders of the FOAM movement (Free Open-Access Medical education) and is co-creator of litfl.com, the RAGE podcast, the Resuscitology course, and the SMACC conference.

His one great achievement is being the father of three amazing children.

On Twitter, he is @precordialthump.

| INTENSIVE | RAGE | Resuscitology | SMACC

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