A Study on Children with Dysentery-like Stool from Taegu Area in 1980

ABSTRACT

A clinical and laboratory study was conducted on 75 children with dysentery-like stool, who had been admitted or visited to our pediatric department, during 8 months period from January to August 1980. The following results were obtained: One to five years of age group was affected most frequently(47%), Shigella flexneri was identified by stool culture in 23 cases(30%) and Entameba histolytica in 13 cases(17%). In bacillary dysentery group, fever was the most common symptom occuring in 83%, followed by abdominal pain in 35%. vomiting in 26% and convulsion in 22%. In amoebic dysentery group, fever was noted in 31% and convulsion in 8%, showing some contrast to the frequency of fever & CNS manifestation. About the character of diarrheal stool, 83% of bacillary dysentery group showed bloody, mucoid stool and 62% of amoebic dysentery group mucoid ones. Frequency of diarrhea was 11 times per day or more in 73% of bacillary dysentery patients, and 10 times per day or lese in 92% of amoebic dysentery patients. The result of sensitivity test of isolated Shigella to various antibiotics were as follow : 100% sensitive to kanamycin, gentamicin, amikacin, cephaloridine & rifampin, 87% to nalidixic acid, an4 4.3% to sulfonamide, chloramphcnicol, streptomycin, tetracyclin, ampicillin & bactrim. And 22 out of 23 isolated Shigella strains revealed multiple- drug-resistance pattern on 6 or more antibiotics.