Table 6.

Conclusions

What is known?	What is new?
• Gastroenteritis is a common disease in the Netherlands	• In the Netherlands, for patients with acute gastroenteritis, relatively few stool samples are requested by GPs when compared to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom
• Viruses are the most important causes of gastroenteritis	• The reason for a request for a stool sample are related to age: 0 to 4 years: reassurance of parents; 40 to 64 years: recent visit to a specific country; 65 years and older: duration or severity of complaints
• In the Netherlands, patients with acute gastroenteritis visit their GP less often when compared to patients in the United Kingdom	• Test requests did not always comply with existing knowledge of the etiology of gastroenteritis
	• The Dutch National guidelines for acute gastroenteritis should be revised