[Clinical study of 78 cases of nontyphoid Salmonella bacteremia]

A total of 78 consecutive patients with nontyphoid salmonella bacteremia were selected by microbiological and chart reviewing in the past 18 months to study its epidemiology, treatment and prognosis at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Linkou Medical Center. Children under 5 years of age had the highest incidence (28.2%) followed by patients between the ages of 50 to 79 years (16.2%). Nontyphoid salmonella bacteremia occurred with greatest frequency from June through October. Only 24 out of 78 patients (30%) had diarrhea associated with this disease. The concomitant focal infections with bacteremia included septic arthritis (5.1%), urinary tract infection (3.8%), peritonitis (2.6%), and empyema (1.3%). The overall curde fatality rate was 34.6%. Eighty nine point three percent of adult patients had underlying diseases. Hundred percent of blood isolates were sensitive to all available third generation antibiotics in the hospital (i.e. cefotaxime, moxalactam, ceftriaxone and ceftazidime). However, only 39.5%, 32.9%, and 68.3% were sensitive to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and trimethoprim--sulfamethoxazole, respectively. According to the treatment results, the use of third generation cephalosporins compared with other antibiotics is not statistically significant.