Table 1.
Clinical features at presentation, in a study of 60 patients with blood culture-proven typhoid fever
| Characteristic | Frequency, overall (n = 60) | NARST (n = 47) | NASST (n = 13) | MDR-ST (n = 22) | NonMDR-ST (n = 38) |
| Age, years * | 15 ± 9 | 13 ± 9 † | 23 ± 8 † | 14 ± 9 | 16 ± 10 |
| Gender (male/female) | 40/20 | 32/15 | 8/5 | 15/7 | 25/13 |
| Fever, days ‡ | 8 (4.8–14) | 10 (7–15) † | 4 (3–6) † | 9 (7–14.3) | 7 (3.8–14) |
| Chills | 39 (65) | 30 (64) | 9 (69) | 15 (68) | 24 (63) |
| Anorexia | 58 (97) | 46 (98) | 12 (92) | 22 (100) | 36 (95) |
| Abdominal pain | 23 (38) | 18 (38) | 5 (38) | 10 (45) | 13 (34) |
| Vomiting | 33 (55) | 27 (57) | 6 (46) | 14 (64) | 19 (50) |
| Diarrhoea | 27 (45) | 22 (47) | 5 (38) | 11 (50) | 16 (42) |
| Constipation | 7 (12) | 6 (13) | 1 (8) | 2 (9) | 5 (13) |
| Intestinal bleeding | 1 (2) | 1 (2) | -- | -- | 1 (3) |
| Headache | 24 (40) | 19 (40) | 5 (38) | 6 (27) | 18 (47) |
| Altered sensorium | 3 (5) | 3 (6) | -- | 2 (9) | 1 (3) |
| Cough | 21 (35) | 18 (38) | 3 (23) | 10 (45) | 11 (29) |
| Relative bradycardia | 6 (10) | 4 (9) | 2 (15) | 1 (5) | 5 (13) |
| Jaundice | 3 (5) | 3 (6) | -- | -- | 3 (8) |
| Hepatomegaly § | 29 (49) | 27 (57) ∥ | 2 (15) ∥ | 11 (50) | 18 (47) |
| Splenomegaly § | 30 (51) | 25 (53) | 5 (38) | 14 (64) | 16 (42) |
NARST = nalidixic acid-resistant Salmonella typhi
NASST = nalidixic acid-sensitive Salmonella typhi
MDR-ST = multidrug-resistant Salmonella typhi
-- no patients in this category
All data presented as number (%) of patients, except when indicated
* data presented as mean ± SD
† P-value < 0.05 for NARST vs. NASST; compared by independent t test or Mann-Whitney U test
‡ duration of fever at presentation; presented as median (IQR)
§ one patient with underlying chronic myeloid leukaemia was not included
∥ P-value < 0.05 for NARST vs. NASST; compared by Fisher's exact test