Typhoid Fever; clinical experience with levofloxacin, its efficacy and safety

ABSTRACT

To find out the efficacy and safety of Levofloxacin in patients suffering from typhoid fever. Non-comparative and prospective study. Medical Units of Allied and DHQ Hospital [PMC] Faisalabad. From May 2002 to July 2004. All suspected febrile patients were examined and provisionally diagnosed to have typhoid fever were admitted for the purpose of study till they were satisfactorily discharged. This clinical study was conducted on 70 patients of Enteric Fever. Fifty-two patients were male and 18 were female. The mean age for male patients in the study sample was 37.58 +/- 8.13 while the mean age of females was 21.92 +/- 4.73 years. Fever as a symptom was present in all 70 [100%] of the patients. Anorexia was there in 61 [85.5%] patients and abdominal pain in 49 [70%] patients. Twenty-seven [38.5%] patients had constipation along with other features. Diarrhea was present in 6 [8.5%] patients. Relative bradycardia was present in 20 [28.5%] patients. Hepa tomegaly was there in 31[44.3%] and Splenomegaly in 24 [34.3%]. Elevated liver enzymes were found in 29 [41.4%] of the patients and blood cultures positive for Salmonella typhi was seen in 19 [27.1%] patients. Widal test was positive at dilution of 1160 in almost all of the cases and at 1320 dilution in 18% of cases in current study. The success rate of Levofloxacin in our study was 100% in the form of settlement of fever and other symptoms and signs. The side effects were seen in 17 [24.2%] patients. In conclusion levofloxacin is effective in treatment of typhoid fever and its use in this indication is safe