Skip to main content
  1. Case Definitions/

Open Syndrome Diarrhea

Authors: Pacific Public Health Surveillance Network (PPHSN)

Location: Pacific Islands

Purpose #

The definition #

3 or more loose or watery stools in 24 hrs

Machine-readable definition #

The definition is available in JSON format following the Open Syndrome v1.0 specification:

{
   "category": "suspected",
   "definition_type": "case_definition",
   "description": "",
   "human_readable_definition": "3 or more loose or\nwatery stools in 24 hrs",
   "inclusion_criteria": [
     {
       "attribute": "stools",
       "name": "Three or more loose or watery stools",
       "operator": "\u003e=",
       "type": "symptom",
       "unit": "occurrences",
       "value": 3
     },
     {
       "attribute": "Time period",
       "name": "Less than 24 hours",
       "operator": "\u003c",
       "type": "professional_judgment",
       "unit": "hours",
       "value": 24
     }
   ],
   "keywords": [
     "Diarrhea",
     "Asia"
   ],
   "language": "English",
   "location": "Pacific Islands",
   "open_syndrome_version": "1.0.0",
   "organization": "Pacific Public Health Surveillance Network (PPHSN)",
   "published_at": "2025-02-08T13:59:09Z",
   "published_by": [
     "Open Syndrome Initiative"
   ],
   "published_in": "https://opensyndrome.org",
   "references": [
     {
       "url": "https://www.pphsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Towards_standardised_syndromic_event-based_surv_system_Pacific.pdf"
     }
   ],
   "scope": "broad",
   "status": "draft",
   "target_public_health_threats": [
     "Diarrhea"
   ],
   "title": "Open Syndrome Diarrhea",
   "version": "1.0.0"
 }

Using the Definition #

Healthcare organizations can implement this definition through:

  • Direct integration with surveillance systems
  • API endpoints for real-time validation
  • Manual case verification processes

Next Steps #

We encourage:

  • Clinical feedback on the definition criteria
  • Technical feedback on the implementation format
  • Suggestions for additional symptoms or signs
  • Reports of implementation experiences

Get Involved #

We welcome contributions and feedback from the community.