[Failure of the treatment with antibiotics in severe Salmonella infections in children and use of quinolones].

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Quinolone antibiotics are effective in the treatment of Salmonella infections in adults. Their use in children is limited by their side-effects.

POPULATION AND METHODS:

Forty-two patients (21 girls and 21 boys), aged 1 month to 12 years (mean 3.3 yrs) were admitted from September 1991 to June 1993 for severe Salmonella infections. Criteria of severity were persistent diarrhea and fever for more than 3 days. Thirty-one of these patients were less than 5 years of age. Blood culture was positive in 7 out of 35 patients: culture of the stools was positive in all patients. Five of the 42 patients had presented an acute episode of Salmonella infection a few weeks earlier and had remained asymptomatic carriers until the new acute and severe episode of diarrhea. All patients were given usual antibiotics, mainly ampicillin, amoxicillin, trimethoprime-sulfamethoxazole. Twenty-five of these patients were then given pefloxacin, 12 mg/kg/day, since the 5th day, for 7 days, because persistence of diarrhea and fever.

RESULTS:

Diarrhea and fever disappeared within less than 2 days in the group of patients given pefloxacin, even though in 6 patients the infecting Salmonella was in vitro resistant to beta-lactamins. Twenty % of patients remained asymptomatic carriers of Salmonella in the group treated by pefloxacin vs 47% in the group without it. There was no difference in species of Salmonella between both groups. None of the patients treated by pefloxacin developed side-effects during the six months following its administration.

CONCLUSIONS:

Short treatment by pefloxacin may be an alternative choice for treating severe Salmonella infections in children.

• Authors: F Moulin, J Raymond, M Bergeret, J L Iniguez, F Habib, M Chemillier-Truong, M A Legall, J Badoual, D Gendrel
• Journal: Archives de pediatrie : organe officiel de la Societe francaise de pediatrie (Arch Pediatr) Vol. 2 Issue 4 Pg. 317-23 (Apr 1995) ISSN: 0929-693X [Print] France
• Vernacular Title: Echecs du traitement antibiotique des salmonelloses sévères de l'enfant et utilisation des quinolones.
• PMID: 7780538 (Publication Type: English Abstract, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Clavulanic Acids
• Pefloxacin
• Ceftriaxone
• Ampicillin
• Amoxicillin
• Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination
• Cefotaxime

Topics

• Amoxicillin (therapeutic use)
• Ampicillin (therapeutic use)
• Cefotaxime (therapeutic use)
• Ceftriaxone (therapeutic use)
• Child
• Child, Preschool
• Clavulanic Acids (therapeutic use)
• Female
• Humans
• Infant
• Male
• Pefloxacin (therapeutic use)
• Salmonella Infections (drug therapy)
• Treatment Failure
• Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination (therapeutic use)