Potent Antibiotic to Treat Typhoid Fever in Patients of Pediatric Age-group
Aneeqa Nawaz *
Teaching Hospital and Sahiwal Medical College, Medical College Road, Sahiwal, Pakistan
Arifa Aslam
Teaching Hospital and Sahiwal Medical College, Medical College Road, Sahiwal, Pakistan
Ghina Haq
Teaching Hospital and Sahiwal Medical College, Medical College Road, Sahiwal, Pakistan
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aims: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Cefixime and chloramphenicol taken orally in the treatment of typhoid fever in pediatric patients.
Study Design: Randomized Clinical Trial.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pediatric Medicine, DHQ Teaching Hospital, Sahiwal and Sahiwal Medical College, Sahiwal (Pakistan) from May to October 2017.
Methodology: We included 60 patients diagnosed with typhoid fever confirmed by blood culture in this study and divided them into two groups. Group A received Cefixime while Group B was treated with Chloramphenicol. All patients were treated on indoor basis after admission to the ward and defervescence period was recorded in days for every patient. Non-responders were treated with alternative antibiotics in time as advised by the ethical review committee.
Results: Among group A patients, Cefixime cured 28 out of 30 patients successfully with an efficacy of 93.3%, while in Group B, chloramphenicol was successful in treating 13 out of 30 patients with a cure rate of 43.3% (P value was 0.01). Overall in this study 45 patients were treated with Cefixime, of which 43 were cured successfully (95.5%) with a P value of 0.005.
Conclusion: Cefixime is a superior choice at present times in this region of Pakistan for the treatment of typhoid fever.
Keywords: Typhoid fever, Salmonella typhi, cephalosporin, Cefixime, chloramphenicol