[Therapy of salmonella enteritis with special reference to lactulose (author's transl)]

Excretion of Salmonellae in two groups of outpatients with Salmonellae is discussed. In one group of 51 adults, a total of 30 different serotypes were isolated. These patients were treated with lactulose and after four weeks the organisms had been eliminated in 68.6%. In a group of 23 adults receiving no treatment whatsoever, 56.5% were still excreting the organism after four weeks. Of the 64 in-patients studied, 37 received various antibiotics, 14 lactulose and in 13 only the symptoms were treated. The length of the excretion period was longer for the group receiving antibiotics (four weeks after onset of illness 67.8% were still excreting the organism). Treatment with lactulose, however, resulted in a shorter period of excretion for these patients. Special aspects of the various groups - e.g. age structure, pattern of infecting organisms - are reported in detail.