Treatment of gastrointestinal infections.

During the past year, we have seen the continuing spread of antimicrobial drug resistance in important gastrointestinal pathogens. Typhoid fever seen in the United States was multidrug resistant, but still susceptible to quinolones. The mechanism of quinolone resistant typhoid in Vietnam was better elucidated. Treatment failures in enterobacteriaceae treated with quinolones suggest that the minimum inhibitory concentration break point for resistance should be lowered. Evidence is mounting that ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin may be safely used to treat serious infections in children. Cefixime showed some promise in treating shigellosis in an open labeled trial. Decreased gastric acid secretion was associated with cholera but not dysentery. Phase 1 trials of vaccines for cholera and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli showed promise. The antifungal drug, clotrimazole, demonstrated ability to inhibit secretory diarrhea in laboratory studies. Nitazoxanide demonstrated efficacy in both protozoan and helminthic infections in humans, including fascioliasis.