Enteric Fever in Children aged 1–14 years Socio-demographic Insights, Clinical Manifestations, and Outcomes from a 2-year Hospital-based Study

Background: Enteric fever remains a major public health issue in developing countries, especially among children aged 1-14 years.The disease, mainly caused by Salmonella enterica serovars Typhi and Paratyphi, poses diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to nonspecific symptoms, limited diagnostic tools, and rising antimicrobial resistance.Methods: This hospital-based retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the medical records of 110 children admitted with a diagnosis of enteric fever between December 2022 and December 2024 at a tertiary care hospital were reviewed.Data on demographics, symptoms, laboratory results, diagnostics, treatment, and clinical results were collected and analysed using Stata version 15.1.Results: The mean age was 7.8 3.9 years; 62.7% were male.Most (73.6%) were from middle socio-economic strata.Fever (98.18%), vomiting (38.18%), and diarrhoea (29%) were the most common symptoms; pallor (27.2%) and hepatomegaly (17.27%) were frequent signs.Eosinopenia (61.81%), anaemia (44.54%), and elevated CRP (72.7%) predominated in labs.Blood cultures were positive in 27.3%, with high nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin resistance but complete sensitivity to ceftriaxone, meropenem, cotrimoxazole, and piperacillin-tazobactam. Hepatitis (12.7%) was the most common complication.All patients recovered; average hospital stay was seven days. Conclusion:The study has concluded that the high prevalence of enteric fever among school-aged children, particularly those from middle socio-economic backgrounds.It emphasizes the dominance of fever, vomiting, and eosinopenia as key clinical features, with a concerning rise in antibiotic resistance, especially to ciprofloxacin and nalidixic acid.