ETIOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF ACUTE INTESTINAL INFECTIONS IN CHILDREN BASED ON MULTIPLEX PCR RESULTS

Аннотация

Acute intestinal infections remain one of the most common infectious diseases in pediatric practice. The etiological structure of these infections is diverse and may include viral, bacterial, and mixed pathogens. The aim of this study was to evaluate the etiological structure and clinical features of acute intestinal infections in children using multiplex polymerase chain reaction. The study included 50 pediatric patients diagnosed with acute intestinal infections. Clinical, epidemiological, laboratory, and multiplex PCR data were analyzed. According to multiplex PCR results, mixed infections were detected most frequently - in 22 patients (44.0%). Viral mono-infections were identified in 16 patients (32.0%), while bacterial mono-infections were detected in 12 patients (24.0%). Mixed infections were mainly represented by viral-bacterial associations and were associated with a more severe clinical course, including prolonged diarrhea, repeated vomiting, dehydration, fever, abdominal pain, leukocytosis, and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The results indicate that multiplex PCR is an important diagnostic method for identifying mixed etiological forms of acute intestinal infections in children and may contribute to optimization of treatment tactics.