Clinical and laboratory manifestations of typhoid fever at Persahabatan Hospital, Jakarta.

OBJECTIVE

To determine clinical, and therapeutic characteristics, and antibiotic susceptibility test results for typhoid fever.

METHODS

A retrospective study using data from medical records of all typhoid fever subjects which is confirmed by blood culture positive for S. typhi or S. paratyphi. This study was performed to determine clinical, laboratory, and therapeutic characteristics. Statistical analysis was performed using unpaired student t-test.

RESULTS

Out of 119 subjects, 58.8% were male and 41.2% were female. The average age was 24.98 years (SD 11.11). Predominant symptoms were headache, epigastric pain, nausea, anorexia, together with fever from the afternoon to night. Predominant laboratory abnormalities were decreased or normal leukocyte count, increased of SGOT/SGPT, increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, thrombocytopenia, and proteinuria. Predominant widal test results for antigen O and H were 1/320. Four time elevations of widal titer were rare in this study. Typhoid hepatitis, typhoid pneumonia, typhoid encephalopathy, intestinal haemorrhage are the most frequent complications in this study. Chloramphenicol is still effective for typhoid fever.

CONCLUSIONS

From this study, it can be concluded that headache, epigastric pain, nausea, decreased appetite together with fever in the evening/at night with normal/decreased leukocyte count and abnormal liver function are the most common clinical symptoms found in typhoid subjects.