TYPHOID MASKED BY MEASLES:  Perforation of Intestine with Recovery

PERFORATIONS of typhoid ulcers are probably the most dreaded of all complications of typhoid and have been estimated to occur in 2 to 3 per cent of all cases.¹ The points of perforation (usually multiple, but occasionally single) are generally in the ileum; however, they also occur in the cecum, colon, gallbladder and appendix. Of those extremely rare cases of typhoid cholecystitis, the incidence of perforations of gallbladder ulcers has been reported as high as 46 per cent.² Perforations of typhoid ulcers in infants and children account for approximately 30 per cent of the total mortality from typhoid.^1b The mortality rate for perforated typhoid ulcers is estimated at 33.4 to 50 per cent when surgical treatment is given; however, without surgical intervention this rate approaches 100 per cent.³

The case herein reported represents one of intestinal perforation with recovery. It is unique in that the symptoms