title: Duodenal string test in typhoid fever.
abstract: Twenty five children between 4-12 years of age hospitalized with a clinical diagnosis of enteric fever were studied for evaluating the practicality and sensitivity of duodenal string-capsule culture (DSCC) and compared with conventional cultures from blood (BC), urine (UC) and stool (SC). Duodenal string capsule (DSCC) was successfully inserted in 18 patients (72%). Insertion of DSCC failed in 7 patients (28%) and all of them were below 6 years of age. Salmonella typhi was isolated from DSCC and/or BC in 13 cases (72.2%). DSCC was positive in 11 out of 13 confirmed cases of typhoid fever (84.6%). BC was positive in 8 cases (61.5%). DSCC was successful in isolating the organism in about 30% more cases than BC. Duodenal string test was a simple, non-invasive and a reliable test which when used in combination with BC could identify almost all cases of enteric fever irrespective of duration of fever and prior use of antibiotics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Antony
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Patwari
authors.forename: V K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Anand
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Pillai
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aneja
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D001646:Bile / Q000382:microbiology*; D002214:Capsules; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004386:Duodenum / Q000382:microbiology*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012485:Salmonella typhi / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D014435:Typhoid Fever / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000652:urine
chemical_list: D002214:Capsules