Childhood shigellosis: clinical and bacteriological study.

Ninety-three children with shigellosis were hospitalized in a regional hospital in Kuwait during the year 1988. S. flexneri was the most common isolate (54%) followed by S. sonnei (39%) and S. boydii (7%). In addition to the gastrointestinal manifestations, 14 patients (15%) developed generalized convulsions. The benign and self-limiting nature of the convulsions associated with shigellosis means that neither diagnostic procedure nor drug therapy are usually necessary. The disease was self-limiting in 41% and antimicrobial usage did not seem to shorten the duration of symptoms or hospital stay. All shigellae isolated were sensitive to gentamicin and amikacin, 56% were resistant to three or more antimicrobial agents, 32 were resistant to five or more. These findings may indicate the need for better control of antibiotic use, particularly in developing countries.