Typhoid fever complications in children

Objective - Typhoid fever is still a public health problem in some countrie s, Our aim is to report data about complicated clinical presentations. Material and methods - We report the descriptive and causal analysis of 37 cases of complicated typhoid fever: These were selected from among 297 chil dren with confirmed typhoid fever; from January 1980 to December 1991, in t he Casablanca Hospital's department of pediatric infectious diseases. Results - Thirty-one children presented one type of complication, whereas s ix presented two or more types. Complications were: neuro-psychiatric in 17 children, digestive in 13 children, hematological in six children, pneumop athological in four children, with one pneumothorax, myocarditis in two pat ients, and two cases of functional acute renal failure. The determining fac tors of complicated typhoid fever in children were female gender rural orig in, poor hygiene conditions, malnutrition, digestive parasitosis, diag4nosi s delay, and poor therapeutic supervision after medical consultation. Comments- These results are coherent with previously published literature. The patient's outcome can improve with a better knowledge of these complica tions and their adequate supervision. (C)2000 Editions scientifiques et med icales Elsevier SAS.