Clinical and Haematological Manifestations of Typhoid Fever in Children in Eastern Turkey.
OBJECTIVE
Typhoid fever can involve various organs, leading to a wide range of presentations: from uncomplicated to complicated typhoid fever. The haematological changes are common in typhoid fever and include anaemia, leucopaenia, thrombocytopaenia and bleeding diathesis. This study was undertaken in order to determine the clinical and haematological presentation of typhoid fever in children.


METHODS
In this study, records of children and adolescents with typhoid fever aged under or equal to 16 years, admitted to Yuzuncu Yil University Hospital between 2010 and 2014, were analysed retrospectively.


RESULTS
The cases (56%) were admitted to our hospital in July and October. Major symptoms of patients were abdominal pain (24%), arthralgia (21%) and fever (11%). In our study, decreased mean platelet volume (31%), eosinopaenia 20%), abnormal platelet count (19%), anaemia (16%), leucocytosis (16%) and eosinophilia (12%) were the most common haematological findings in the children.


CONCLUSIONS
Typhoid fever is predominant in children at school age with a slight male predominance. Decreased mean platelet volume and abdominal pain might be useful as early diagnostic clues.
Department of Pediatric Hematology, Faculty of Medicine, Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey. E-mail: drsinanakbayram@gmail.com.
S
S
Akbayram
Department of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey.
M
M
Parlak
Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey.
M
M
Dogan
Department of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey.
G
G
Karasin
Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey.
H T
HT
Akbayram
Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey.
K
K
Karaman
Child; mean platelet volume; typhoid fever