FEATURES OF SCARLET FEVER IN CHILDREN AND EXPERIENCE OF APPLICATION OF STREPTATEST SYSTEM

Abstract

The study aims to investigate clinical and laboratory features of the course of scarlet fever and the effectiveness of the rapid diagnostic test system Streptatest in children admitted in an infectious unit. Material and methods. A prospective study includes 39 children diagnosed with scarlet fever and admitted in an infectious unit of the City Children’s Clinical Hospital № 3, Omsk. The children are divided into groups according to their age. More than half of the patients are children between the ages of 3 and 7. Anamnesis, the clinical picture of the disease, and laboratory data are analyzed. Results. The disease was of moderate severity and manifested itself in the presence of basic symptoms in 97.4 % of patients. It was revealed that in children under 3 years of age, the level of C-reactive protein was statistically significantly higher (рU < 0.05), at comparing indicators in patients of different ages. During the bacteriological examination, β-hemolytic streptococcus was inoculated only in 12.8 % of patients (group A). Streptatest was carried out in 26 children upon admission to the hospital, before the appointment of antibiotic therapy. A positive test result was recorded in 21 cases (80.8 %). The effectiveness of using the rapid diagnostic test system Streptatest was statistically significantly higher (рφ < 0.01) compared to bacteriological research.