Child health · UKMLA & AKT
Adenovirus gastroenteritis
A free high-yield preview for the UKMLA Applied Knowledge Test. Below are the key points to recognise adenovirus gastroenteritis — the full SA Note notes add investigations, management, complications and 10 practice questions.
Key high-yield points
- Watery diarrhoea - prolonged, lasting 5-12 days (up to 2 weeks); hallmark feature distinguishing adenovirus from other viral causes
- Respiratory symptoms (coryza, cough, sore throat) concurrent with or preceding GI illness - classic hallmark of adenovirus
- Low-grade fever - high fever should prompt consideration of bacterial cause
- Vomiting - less prominent than norovirus or rotavirus
- Mesenteric adenitis - abdominal pain persisting after acute illness resolves; child appears well and is eating normally
Child with abdominal pain + low-grade fever + diffuse tenderness who appears well and has a normal appetite, following a recent viral illness = mesenteric adenitis (adenovirus is a recognised cause). Key differentiator from appendicitis: pain localises to RIF in appendicitis, appetite is lost, and WCC is elevated.
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