Salmonella typhimurium abscess of the chest wall
Unusual clinical course, Educational Purpose (only if useful for a systematic review or synthesis)
Gilda Tonziello, Romina Valentinotti, Enrico Arbore, Paolo Cassetti, Roberto Luzzati
Infectious Diseases Unit, University Hospital, Trieste, Italy
Am J Case Rep 2013; 14:502-506
DOI: 10.12659/AJCR.889546
Available online:
Published: 2013-11-25
Background: Non-typhoid Salmonella extra-intestinal infections usually develop in infants and in adult patients with pre-existing predisposing conditions. Blood stream infections and urinary tract infections are the most common clinical presentations, but other sites of infection may be involved as well.
Case Report: We describe a case of invasive salmonellosis caused by Salmonella typhimurium involving the chest wall in a 73-year-old man. The patient had suffered from gastroenteritis followed by left basal pneumonia with pleural effusion 7 weeks before. The CT scan of the chest wall showed a pericostal abscess with shirt-stud morphology near the left last cartilaginous arch. The abscess was surgically drained and patient was cured after a 40-day ciprofloxacin treatment.
Conclusions: A review of the literature on extra-intestinal non-typhoid salmonellosis shows that pleuropulmonary and soft-tissue infections are uncommon. We argue that non-typhoid Salmonella might be considered as a possible cause of chest wall abscess in individuals with recent history of gastroenteritis complicated by pneumonia and pleural effusion.
Keywords: chest wall, soft tissue, Salmonella, Infection
