Typhoid fever in children: A study of 60 cases

Abstract

Summary 1. An analysis of 60 cases of typhoid fever in infants and children is presented. 2. Abdominal pain is prominent at the onset of 50 per cent of cases. 3. The white blood count may be high during the early stage of the disease; the leucopenia apparently appears just after the blood stream is invaded. 4. The appearance of typhoid bacilli in the stools occurs with great irregularity in single cases. 5. The Widal is positive by the end of the second week in 60 per cent of the cases. 6. The disease in children is characterized by an abrupt onset, the frequent appearance of neurologic symptoms, and a shorter course and lower mortality rate than is found in adults. 7. The complications are largely pyogenic. Hemorrhage and perforation are rare, and this rarity is presumably due to the superficial character of the intestinal ulcerations. 8. In the majority of sporadic cases the source cannot be determined.