Treatment to Patients with Acute Diarrhea: Survey to a Group of General Practitioners from Mexico

Abstract

Objective: to know the clinical features and treatment in cases of acute diarrhea given by General Practitioners in Mexico. Methods: during 2015 it was conducted a survey with general practitioners from 26 cities of Mexico. Results: 109 medical provided data of 1 840 patients with acute diarrhea, from 1 to 98 years of age (media 34 years), 90% had less than 48 hours of evolution of a media of six evacuations a day, liquid or semi-liquid; 37% mucus or blood in the stool, 41.9% fever, 38.7% of the patients had previously received treatment with antimicrobials and/or antidiarrheal. The prescribed treatment was oral (93%) and intravenous (7%) hydration; antimicrobial (90.7%), mostly Rifaximin (75.6%); in 17.6% the combination of antimicrobials were prescribed. Probiotics were prescribed to 57.1%; and antidiarrheal to 23%. In all cases the diarrhea disappeared within four days or less. A relationship between treatments and therapeutic response was not established since most patients received antimicrobials. Conclusions: the treatment of acute diarrhea prescribed by the interviewed physicians was: oral hydration, antibiotics (mainly Rifaximin) and probiotics. In all cases diarrhea disappeared within four days or less.