DIAGNOSTIC VALUE OF POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (P.C.R) IN CHILDREN WITH TYPHOID FEVER

Abstract

Typhoid fever is a distinctive acute systemic febrile infection of the mononuclear phagocytes and deserves separate consideration. Since it may be caused by several serovars (S. typhi, S. para typhi A, S. para typhi B, and occaionally S. typhimurium), many clinicians perfer the term enteric fever. However, because typhoid fever is fundamentally not an enteric disease, this term is also inappropriate.

Typhoid fever is a world wide in distribution. In Egypt, typhoid fever still more prevalent disease specially in the summar months and this is due to bad habit of eating outside home.

I ,""­ I

The clinical picture of typhoid fever is highly variable although fever, headach, anorexia, vague abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation, toxic face, coated tongue, abdominal tenderness, splenomgely and hepatomegly are very suggestive symptoms and signs.

' The diagnoses of typhoid fever is based on isolation of the

causative organism from the blood of the patient.

0,\,

The aim of this work iiife­evaluate thexliagnosis of typhoid fever in children compari� blood culture, widal test to the newly developed polymerase chain reaction (PCR technique).

The study included 30 cases of children suspected clinically 'tl \.._. typhoid fever ;Yvere admitted to Damanhour fever hospital for diagnosis

and management.