CHARACTERISTICS OF GASTROINTESTINAL SALMONELLOSIS IN CHILDREN FROM NIZHNY NOVGOROD

Abstract

The study aims to examine the epidemiological, etiological, and clinical features of gastrointestinal salmonellosis in children living in Nizhny Novgorod. A retrospective analysis of 49 children with gastrointestinal salmonellosis who received treatment in the Infectious Hospital No. 23 in Nizhny Novgorod was conducted. Database was compiled via clinical and laboratory diagnosing methods to assess the age of the patients, the duration of the disease upon admission to the hospital, the results of physical examination and laboratory tests using statistical methods. Most children were 3 years old or older (71.4 %) and admitted in 2–3 days after the onset of the disease (77.6 %). The most common infectious agent was serovar S. enteritidis D (84.8 %), while every 2nd child (46.9 %) had a mixed infection. The severity of the disease was mostly moderate (93.9 %) with the presence of intoxication (87.8 %), febrile fever (65.3 %), abdominal pain syndrome (93.8 %), repeating vomiting (57.7 %). Half of the patients developed grade I exicosis (53 %). Gastrointestinal symptoms were often combined with leukocyturia (49 %). The fecal culture test was highly informative for verification of specific bacterial agent. Long-term germ fecal excretion was detected in 12.2 % of patients, mostly in children under the age of 3 years (83.3 %). The study provides etiological, clinical and epidemiological features of gastrointestinal salmonellosis in children living in Nizhny Novgorod.