Typhoid fever in children: experience in King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.

Blood cultures of children treated at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital from 1986 to 2000 were retrospectively reviewed and 19 specimens were positive for Salmonella typhi. Of 14 patients whose medical records were available, the age range was between 2 years and 15 years with a male to female ratio of 1.8:1. Major presentations were prolonged fever with a mean duration of 7 days and gastrointestinal manifestations including abdominal pain (71%), hepatomegaly (64%), anorexia (57%), vomiting (57%), and diarrhea (50%). Most cases had normal hematocrit values with white blood cell counts of 5,000-9,000 cells/mm3 and the percentage of neutrophils was 60-89. Complications were abnormal urine sediments (3) including a case of typhoid nephritis, severe enteritis (2) and acute hemolysis (1). Most isolates were susceptible to cotrimoxazole, ampicillin and ceftriaxone by the disk diffusion susceptibility test. Defervescence was seen within 3-14 days after antibiotic therapy. There was no mortality.