Objective: The frequency and the distribution of the agents of gastroenteritis vary by age and geographic region. This study was aimed to investigate the distribution of the causative agents of gastroenteritis in patients admitted to the Trakya University Hospital, Edirne, Turkey, with the complaints of gastroenteritis.

Material and Methods: The results of the microbiological examination of the stool samples evaluated at the Central Microbiology Laboratory of Trakya University Hospital between June 2011 and July 2012 were analyzed retrospectively. For the isolation of Salmonella and Shigella strains, the samples were inoculated on selective and enriched media. Native Lugol's staining method was used for parasitological examination and protozoan suspected samples were stained with trichrome stain. Rotavirus antigen, Entamoeba histolytica adhesin antigen and Clostridium difficile toxins were investigated by Laboquick Rotavirus Ag Test (Turkey), Wampole E. histolytica II (USA) and Rida-quick C.difficile Toxin A/B (Germany) kits, respectively. The results were compared with those obtained during the period of 2001-2002.

Results: A total of 2244 stool samples from 957 (42.7%) female and 1287 (57.3%) male patients were investigated. Pathogenic microorganisms were found in 130 (5.8%) samples. Salmonella and Shigella were isolated in 32 (1.4%) cases, revealing a significant decrease in the incidence of those agents when compared with the data reported for the years 2001-2002 (p<0.001). While Blastocystis hominis was detected in 23 (1.6%) and Giardia intestinalis in 17 (1.2%) of the 1404 samples examined for the presence of parasites, all the samples were E. histolytica negative. Rotavirus was found positive in 35 of 152 (23%) samples and 91% of them were harvested from children aged 0-15 years. C. difficile toxin A/B was positive in 14 (7.3%) of 192 patients.

Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that the incidence of bacterial and parasitic agents of gastroenteritis was decreased in our region. However, rotavirus should be considered as a frequent cause of gastroenteritis especially in children with complaints of gastroenteritis.