TY - JOUR T1 - Training paediatricians to follow guidelines for the management of acute gastroenteritis improves guideline adherence and reduces the duration of diarrhoea in young children JF - Evidence Based Medicine JO - Evid Based Med SP - 83 LP - 84 DO - 10.1136/ebm1073 VL - 15 IS - 3 AU - Joel S Tieder Y1 - 2010/06/01 UR - http://ebm.bmj.com/content/15/3/83.abstract N2 - Commentary on: Albano F, Lo Vecchio A, Guarino A. The applicability and efficacy of guidelines for the management of acute gastroenteritis in outpatient children: a field-randomized trial on primary care pediatricians. J Pediatr 2010;156:226–30.OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is one of the most common diseases among children. Widely accepted evidence-based guidelines exist, and the best care for this condition is simple and inexpensive1; however, patients in developed countries often do not receive the standard of care, leading to unnecessary emergency department visits, hospitalizations, patient-safety risks and costs.2 3 Better implementation of AGE guidelines is desperately needed. In the study by Albano and colleagues, 74 community paediatricians in Italy underwent 2 h of training in AGE management on the basis of international recommendations, whereas a matched control group of 75 paediatricians did not. Each paediatrician had 10 patients enrolled, and a total of 1309 patients completed the study. Baseline characteristics of paediatricians and patients in each arm of the study were similar. Guideline ‘applicability’, duration of diarrhoea and weight gain were measured outcomes. This study supports previous findings that evidence-based care for AGE … ER -