dysentery

Etiology

• gastrointestinal infection
  • viral enteritis
  • shigellosis
  • enterohemorrhagic E. coli (Shiga toxin producing E. coli) is the most common cause of bloody diarrhea in the U.S.
  • Vibrio parahaemolyticus
  • amebiasis

Clinical manifestations

• severe & bloody diarrhea
• mucous in feces
• tenesmus
• abdominal pain
• fever

Laboratory

• shiga toxin gene, immunoassay for shiga toxin
• as indicated
  • stool culture (Shigellosis)
  • nucleic acid amplification test
  • stool microscopy (amebiasis)

More general terms

• enterocolitis
• infectious diarrhea; infectious colitis
• bloody diarrhea; inflammatory diarrhea

More specific terms

• shigellosis (bacillary dysentery)