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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffThe main complication of viral gastroenteritis is dehydration — a severe loss of water and essential salts and minerals. If you're healthy and drink enough to replace fluids you lose from vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration shouldn't be a problem.
Infants, older adults and people with suppressed immune systems may become severely dehydrated when they lose more fluids than they can replace. If that's the case, hospitalization might be needed so that lost fluids can be replaced intravenously. Rarely, dehydration can be fatal.
- Parashar UD, et al. Viral gastroenteritis. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Online. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=2895854. Accessed May 18, 2011.
- Viral gastroenteritis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/faq.htm. Accessed May 18, 2011.
- Bresee J. Viral gastroenteritis. In: Long SS, et al. Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. 3rd ed. New York, N.Y.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/linkTo?type=bookPage&isbn=978-0-7020-3468-8&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7020-3468-8..50066-3. Accessed May 18, 2011.
- Viral gastroenteritis. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/viralgastroenteritis/index.htm. Accessed May 18, 2011.
- Rotavirus: Clinical disease information. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/rotavirus/about_rotavirus.htm. Accessed May 18, 2011.
- Norovirus: Q&A. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus-qa.htm. Accessed April 15, 2009.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Updated norovirus outbreak management and disease prevention guidelines. MMWR. 2011;60:1. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr6003a1.htm?s_cid=rr6003a1_e. Accessed May 18, 2011.
- Kapikian AZ. Rotaviruses, noroviruses, and other gastrointestinal viruses. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/linkTo?type=bookPage&isbn=978-1-4160-2805-5&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50408-0. Accessed May 18, 2011.
- Vomiting. Nemours Foundation. http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/emergencies/vomit.html. Accessed May 18, 2011.
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