Role of Abdominal Ultrasound in the Diagnosis of Typhoid Fever in Pediatric Patients

摘要

Abstract An early diagnosis of typhoid fever caused by Salmonella typhi is difficult because of several spectra of clinical findings, identical to those of several other types of infections. A definitive diagnosis of typhoid fever is made by hemoculture as well as the Widal test. With pediatric patients, this life-threatening infection remains inherently long enough, demanding urgent attention. In typhoid fever, splenomegaly, enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs), bowel wall thickening, acalculus cholecystitis, and hepatomegaly occur, which are diagnosed by the ultrasonography (USG) test. USG Is a noninvasive, easily available, economical, fairly acceptable, and fairly sensitive test. The high-resolution real-time gray-scale USG method has simplified the evaluation of pathologic conditions, with remarkable clarity; consequently, an accurate assessment of the associated lesions can be done. In typhoid-endemic areas, USG findings as cited above could be used for diagnosis of typhoid fever, particularly when serology is equivocal and hemocultures are negative or not available. It was evident from USG studies that 12 of 52 patients had calculus cholecystitis; these individuals as well as eight patients without cholecystitis having hemocultures negative for S. typhi were excluded from the study.