title: Severe multiresistant Salmonella typhimurium systemic infections in Central Africa--clinical features and treatment in a paediatric department.
abstract: During a 21-month period, we observed an outbreak of severe systemic infections due to multiresistant Salmonella typhimurium among 66 children in the in-patient Department of Paediatrics of Kigali, Rwanda. These infections were more likely to occur in subjects who had stayed for a long time in the hospital for severe illness and/or malnutrition. The children usually presented first with mild to moderate diarrhoea and fever. Later, sever pulmonary involvement was often noted (rales: 58%; respiratory distress: 42%). Moreover, there were four cases of abscess, three arthritis and one meningitis. Of the 66 children, 48 were treated with cefotaxime. The fatality-rate among this group was 10.4%. The fatality-rate among the 18 other untreated patients was 77.9%, suggesting a high efficiency of cefotaxime against these strains of multiresistant Salm. typhimurium.
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002439:Cefotaxime / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012480:Salmonella Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002439:Cefotaxime