Clinical Assessment of Typhoid Fever among Febrile Patients with Positive Blood Cultures: A Hospital-Based Clinical Study

Abstract

Background: Typhoid fever is a signifciant health problem worldwide, however, it represents a challenge in developing countries like our country. Widal test has shown to be unreliable test for diagnosis while blood culture represent a good diagnostic tool among febrile patients Objective: To assess the clinical profile, prevalence and risk factor of typhoid fever among febrile patients with positive blood culture. Patients and method: A cross-sectional hospital based study conducted during a period of 18 months in the years 2022-2023 in Al Najaf province in Two main Hospitals ; Al-hakeem and AlManethra General Hospitals included 400 febrile patients. To whom blood culture, widal test, stool culture and serological testing were conducted accordingly. Results: Among the 400 febrile patients, blood culture was positive in 17.75%. Acute form of the disease reported in 83.1% while 16.9% had chronic infection. The main risk factors were age below 40 years , Male gender, rural residence, low level of education and being unemployed, (P. value <0.05). Conclusion: Prevalence of typhoid fever according to blood culture among febrile patients is relatively high. It is comparable to that reported in some other countries whereas much higher than some others. Blood culture was good and reliable diagnostic method compared to Widal test. Patients characteristics showed potential risk of harboring Typhoid fever. We recommend using blood culture to confirm the diagnosis as it represents a gold standard for diagnosis. Further studies still neede for more precise assessment.