| Historical feature | Potential significance |
| Duration of illness | - Symptoms >7 days may indicate underlying gastrointestinal or metabolic disease, or systemic disease (eg, IBD, celiac disease, immunodeficiency)
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| Frequency, volume, and character of stools (eg, blood mucus) | - Frequent, watery, large volume without blood or mucus favors viral gastroenteritis
- Small volume, gross blood, or mucus favors bacterial gastroenteritis
- Blood or mucus also may occur with intussusception, appendicitis, toxic megacolon
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| Frequency, volume, and character of emesis (eg, blood, bile, projectile) | - Prolonged vomiting increases risk of dehydration and concern for underlying systemic or metabolic disorder
- Bilious or projectile vomiting may indicate intestinal obstruction (eg, intussusception, pyloric stenosis)
- Hematemesis may suggest esophageal injury or varices (with underlying liver disease)
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| Weight before illness | - Used to assess degree of dehydration and response to fluid repletion
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| Urine output | - Decreased: Suggests dehydration
- Increased: May indicate diabetes ketoacidosis
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| Associated symptoms: fever, headache, localized abdominal pain, urinary complaints, and others | - May suggest alternate etiology (eg, urinary tract infection, appendicitis, and others)
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| Recent intake of food and fluids | - Used to assess degree of dehydration and other causes of diarrhea (eg, starvation stools, food poisoning, food allergy/intolerance, overfeeding [particularly with hyperosmolar fluids])
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| Underlying medical problems | - May increase risk of complications
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| Recent medications (particularly antibiotics) and medications in the home | - May be associated with vomiting or diarrhea
- Clinical manifestations of certain ingestions may mimic findings of acute gastroenteritis (eg, tachypnea and acidosis in salicylate ingestion)
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| Immunization history (particularly rotavirus) | - Rotavirus immunization decreases likelihood of rotavirus gastroenteritis (even after one dose)
- Incomplete pneumococcal or Haemophilus influenzae type b immunization may increase likelihood of extraintestinal infection with these organisms (eg, otitis media, pneumonia, meningitis)
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| Contacts with acute diarrhea or vomiting | - Supports infectious gastroenteritis, may suggest a common source outbreak
- Symptoms may suggest etiology (eg, prominence of vomiting suggests norovirus)
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Exposures: - Known source of enteric infection (eg, contaminated food or water)
- Unsafe foods (eg, raw/undercooked meats, eggs, shellfish, unpasteurized milk or juice)
- Swimming in or drinking untreated fresh surface water
- Farm, petting zoo, reptiles, pets with diarrhea
- International travel
| - Increases risk of bacterial or parasitic gastroenteritis
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