Assessment of Efficacy of Various Antibiotics Therapy in Treating Typhoid: A Prospective Study

ABSTRACT

Background:Typhoid (cloudy) fever is a systemic infection, caused mainly by Salmonella typhi found only in man. It is characterized by a continuous fever for 3-4 weeks, relative bradycardia, with involvement of lymphoid tissue and considerable constitutional symptoms. Hence; we planned the present study to assess the efficacy of two different antibiotic regimes in treating patients with typhoid fever. Methods: We planned the present study on a total of 20 patients who were confirmed with diagnosis of typhoid fever and were broadly divided into two study groups as follows Group 1- Patients who were treated with Ceftriaxone for 5 Days and Group 2- Patients who were treated with Chloramphenicol for 14 Days. Stool samples and venous blood samples were sent to laboratory for further investigation by bacteriologically culturing for confirming the presence of S. typhi. Stool specimens were examined microscopically for the presence of leukocytes, ova, parasites, and occult blood. Repeating of the blood cultures was done on days 3 and 14, and culturing of the stool specimens was done on days 5 and 14 and 1 week after the patient's discharge from the hospital. All the results were analyzed by SPSS software Results Clinical cure was seen in 8 and 9 patients of group 1 and group 2 respectively. Positive blood culture for S. typhi was seen in 4 patients of group 2 on third day whereas none of the patient of group1 exhibited positive blood culture. Conclusion: Ceftriaxone has equal efficacy in comparison to chloramphenicol in treating typhoid patients.