Paratyphoid fever: a report of 62 cases with several unusual findings and a review of the literature.

Previous descriptions of paratyphoid fever (PTF) are of limited value to the clinician who has had no experience with Salmonella enteric fevers. Sixty-two cases of PTF occurred in a healthy, homogeneous population. Findings supported by the literature included a seasonal incidence, initially seen symptoms of gastroenteritis and spiking fevers, and a high percentage of positive blood cultures. Unusual findings included the rarity of rose spots, patients with fever as their only symptom, two patients with transient papilledema, and two others with peripheral blood smears suggestive of acute leukemia. The findings of this study are compared with previous reports. Likely causes for divergent and contradictory information are inclusion of data from non-PTF states and study of populations with altered states of health.