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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staff
Intestinal bleeding or holes
The most serious complication of typhoid fever — intestinal bleeding or holes (perforations) — may develop in the third week of illness. About 5 percent of people with typhoid fever experience this complication.
Intestinal bleeding is often marked by a sudden drop in blood pressure and shock, followed by the appearance of blood in your stool.
A perforated intestine occurs when your small intestine or large bowel develops a hole, causing intestinal contents to leak into your abdominal cavity and triggering signs and symptoms such as severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and bloodstream infection (sepsis). This life-threatening emergency requires immediate medical care.
Other, less common complications
Other possible complications include:
- Inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis)
- Inflammation of the lining of the heart and valves (endocarditis)
- Pneumonia
- Inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis)
- Inflammation of the gallbladder (cholecystitis)
- Kidney or bladder infections
- Infection and inflammation of the membranes and fluid surrounding your brain and spinal cord (meningitis)
- Psychiatric problems such as delirium, hallucinations and paranoid psychosis
With prompt treatment, nearly all people in industrialized nations recover from typhoid. Without treatment, some people may not survive complications of the disease.
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- Typhoid fever. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/typhoid_fever/. Accessed April 18, 2012.
- Maurice J. A first step in bringing typhoid fever out of the closet. The Lancet. 2012;379:699.
- Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4377-1604-7..00316-X&isbn=978-1-4377-1604-7&sid=1301718288&uniqId=331385541-5#4-u1.0-B978-1-4377-1604-7..00316-X. Accessed April 26, 2012.
- Bope ET, et al. Conn's Current Therapy. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2012. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/linkTo?type=bookHome&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4557-0738-6..C2009-0-38985-0--TOP&isbn=978-1-4557-0738-6&uniqId=331385541-3. Accessed April 26, 2012.
- Mayer CA, et al. Typhoid and paratyphoid fever. Australian Family Physician. 2010;39:847.
- Crump JA, et al. Global trends in typhoid and paratyphoid fever. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2010;50:241.
- Humphries RL, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment Emergency Medicine. 7th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2011. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=55748503. Accessed April 27, 2012.
- Longo DL, et al. Harrison's Online. 18th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2012. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=9113180. Accessed April 27, 2012.
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