Clinical trial of sulbactam/ampicillin in the treatment of typhoid fever, and in-vitro sensitivity of isolates to sulbactam/ampicillin and chloramphenicol.

A trial of Sulbactam/Ampicillin in treatment of typhoid fever was carried out while in-vitro sensitivity of the drug was compared with chloramphenicol. Sulbactam/Ampicillin was found to be effective in 11 out of 12 patients who received the drug. The 1 patient who failed to respond had intestinal perforation with peritonitis. No side effects were encountered. The in-vitro study showed that 91.7% of the isolates were sensitive to sulbactam/ampicillin compared to 75% sensitivity to chloramphenicol. The difference was however not statistically significant (P < 0.05). It is concluded that sulbactam/ampicillin is effective and safe in the treatment of typhoid infection.