Typhoid fever presenting as acute respiratory distress syndrome: rare presentation of a common disease

Typhoid fever or enteric fever is one of the most common outpatient ailments seen in our country and is caused by Salmonella typhi and its sub-species. Common clinical presentation includes acute febrile illness with gastrointestinal symptoms. Complications associated with typhoid fever are rare, and respiratory complications like adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and respiratory failure are even rarer. We present three cases of complicated enteric fever that presented as ARDS to our hospital and were managed successfully.