SALMONELLA-TYPHI INFECTIONS - A 10-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Enteric fever is still a common hearth problem in many countries, espe cially in children. Thus a ten-year retrospective study was carried ou t to evaluate the clinical and laboratory properties of enteric fever and the incidence of antimicrobial resistance in children. Throughout the past 10 years, Salmonella was isolated in 105 patients by blood cu lturing, 27 of which were Salmonella typhi. Most of the patients were above the age of two. Besides the typical symptoms and signs of enteri c fever, 29.2% of the patients had some neurologic findings. Besides, 68.5% had elevated liver enzymes while only 44.4% had hepatomegaly wit h or without splenomegaly. Anemia was present in 44%, leukopenia in 16 % and leukocytosis in 11.1% of the cases. The emergence of antimicrobi al resistance during the last five years against ampicillin, chloramph enicol and trimetoprim-sulfamethoxazole has created a challenge in tre ating these infections.