Effectiveness Study of Levofloxacin in the Treatment of Childhood Typhoid Fever

Abstract Background: Typhoid fever, or enteric fever, is a major human infectious disease since centuries, surviving in conditions of poor sanitation, crowding and social chaos. In the developed countries, the incidence is much lower, and most cases are usually from travelers returning from endemic areas Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of levofloxacin in the treatment of childhood typhoid fever. Methods: This comparative study was carried out among 60 patients presenting with symptoms, signs and laboratory investigations diagnostic of typhoid fever in IPD and OPD of Paediatric department, Dhaka National Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, from April to October 2013. Widal test positive was included for the study & specific antibiotic Levofloxacin was started by randomization using lottery method. Statistical analyses of the results were obtained by using window based computer software devised with Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS-20.1). Results: Majority of the patients time of afebrile after taking antibiotic was 6 days. Almost two third (68.33%) of the patients were receiving treatment for 7 days. Regarding the side effects, it was observed that nearly three fourth (73.3%) of the patients had nausea. Vomiting was found in 8(13.3%) patients. Diarrhoea was found in 2(3.3%) patients. Abdominal discomfort was found in 17(28.3%) patients. Conclusion: Levofloxacin is effective in the treatment of childhood typhoid fever. Nausea and abdominal discomfort were the more common side effect. Keywords: Levofloxacin, resource poor, Typhoid fever