Effect of typhoid fever on thrombocytes

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of typhoid fever on platelet count. A total of 175 patients were admitted with suspected typhoid fever. We picked up only those 46 cases in which either blood culture was positive for Salmonella, or Widal test was positive in high titres. 29 percent of these patients showed a significant decrease in their platelet counts regardless of WBC count. This is important to remember since many viral and bacterial infections and also a number of drugs can cause thrombocytopaenia. The platelet count increased to normal values as the fever settled