[Comparison of symptoms and clinical and laboratory findings in the first and last weeks of typhoid fever].

In this study we examined the clinical and laboratory findings of 80 in-patients. There is an important difference between sexes (p greater than 0.05). Comparison of ages showed that 7-30 age is more vulnerable than the older group. We found clinical symptoms of fever, chills, headache, abdominal pain, disturbances in bowel function, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, and lassitude in the first two weeks more frequently when compared with the 3rd, 4th, 5th weeks of illness (p less than 0.001). Where physical finding of rose spots, discordant pulse rate are important in the first two weeks (p less than 0.001). Abdominal discomfort is an important symptom both in the first two and in the last three weeks (% 40.3 and % 36 respectively). Hepatomegaly and splenomegaly, were found more frequently in the last three weeks. According to laboratory findings of anemia, leukopenia, increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate and positive blood and feces cultures there is no important difference between the first two and last three weeks (p greater than 0.05). Increase in polynuclear leucocytes is important for the first two weeks, and increase in lymphocytes is important in the last three weeks (p less than 0.001). Positivity of group agglutination tests is 57%, in the first two weeks and 83% in the last three weeks. This difference is found to be important.