The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics
2012 , Vol 54 , Num 5
Salmonella Gastroenteritis in Children (Clinical Characteristics and Antibiotic Susceptibility): Comparison of the Years 1995-2001 and 2002-2008
1Social Pediatrics Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine and 3Clinical Microbiology
Laboratory, Hacettepe University Ihsan Doğramacı Children’s Hospital, Ankara, and 2Department of Social Pediatrics,
Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Medicine, İzmir, Turkey. E-mail: siyalcin@hacettepe.edu.tr
We document herein the prevalence and serotype distribution among Salmonella
enterica strains isolated from children treated for diarrhea over two seven-year
periods spanning 14 years. Four hundred and eight (1.38%) S. enterica cases
were isolated among 29,601 diarrheal admissions. Among the Salmonella
isolates, 63.7% were serogroup D and 29.9% were serogroup B. Overall, 21.7%
of cases were under one year of age, with 2.1% being younger than three
months. Bloody diarrhea was found in 18.8% of the cases. The resistance rates
were 25.8%, 18.2%, 7.0%, 4.7%, and 0.3%, to ampicillin, chloramphenicol,
trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, ceftriaxone, and ciprofloxacin, respectively.
In conclusion, our study has revealed that the predominance of Salmonella
serogroup D continues. The clinical features of our patients were mostly mild,
with no deaths or severe complications. While resistance to antimicrobial agents
changes constantly, it is important to keep these strains under surveillance
in order to formulate policies for the rational use of antimicrobial agents.
Keywords :
acute gastroenteritis, children, Salmonella enteritis.