A Critical Analysis of the Management of Typhoid Fever (tf) in a Tertiary Care Hospital

BSTRACT nteric fever is endemic in many parts of the third world. In India, it is the fifth most common infectious isease. With increasing resistance to fluoroquinolones and re-emergence of chloramphenicol, the policy f empirical treatment of typhoid fever (TF) needs to be rationalized. This study was carried out to comare the prescription pattern of typhoid fever for two successive years, to study the change in trend in the rescription pattern, to rationalize prescription and to check the rationality of the use of drugs. A retropective analysis of the management of all the cases of TF during the year 2002 & 2003 was carried out t Kasturba hospital, Manipal. Prescriptions of all the case records of in – patients diagnosed as TF were ollected through a specifically designed proforma and analysed. A total number of 96 cases were admited in 2002 and 90 in 2003. Ceftriaxone emerged as the most commonly used antibiotic in both the years. ever was seen in almost all the cases. Number of cases with widal tested as positive were 33 in 2002 nd 42 in 2003. Number of cases resistant to cephalosporins were nil in both the years. Cephalosporins ontinue to be used commonly .Use of ciprofloxacin has declined. Widal test continues to be carried out ommonly though it is of little practical value and easily misinterpreted. Re-emergence of chloramphenicol s a welcome sign.