The Application of the Vesikari and Modified Vesikari Severity Scores in Complicated Pediatric Gastroenteritis of Viral Origin: An Observational Study

Background/Objectives: Viral gastroenteritis can have a potentially fatal outcome at young ages and the recognition of severe cases could be aided by clinically derived severity scores. Methods: This observational study intended to conduct a comparative assessment of the utility of the Vesikari and modified Vesikari score in the evaluation of viral gastroenteritis severity and for the possible prediction of the dehydration degree. A total number of 113 children diagnosed with gastroenteritis were retrospectively enrolled and divided based on viral etiology into group 1 (34 children with unknown viral etiology), group 2 (60 children with rotavirus) and group 3 (19 children with adenovirus). Results: The highest mean Vesikari and modified Vesikari scores were found in group 2 (p<0.01; p=0.01). A significant increase in liver enzymes was also identified in patients infected with rotavirus. The highest mean diarrhea, vomiting duration and body temperature were found in group 3 (p<0.01; p<0.01; p=0.02), as well as the highest mean inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP; p=0.01) and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p<0.01). Significant linear associations were found between pH, bicarbonate level, base excess and the Vesikari scores, whereas urea, CRP and aspartate aminotransferase levels were associated with both severity scores. ROC curve analysis revealed a significant correlation between the Vesikari scores and dehydration degree (p<0.01), with numeric cut-off values of 11.5 being proposed for the differentiation between mild and moderate gastroenteritis and 13.5 for the distinction between moderate and severe gastroenteritis. Conclusions: Both severity scores are useful in clinical settings, but more studies enrolling populations with various enteral infections could provide more insight into their etiology-based performance and reflection of paraclinical changes.