Multi-foci Salmonella enteritis Osteomyelitis of Thoracic Spine with Pleural Effusion and Fatal Outcome. A Unique Case Presentation and Review of the Literature

Salmonella enteritis spondylitis of thoracic spine: a case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Spondylitis is a very common back problem in orthopedics, but is rarely caused by Salmonella enteritidis. We herein reported an uncommon case of thoracic spondylitis caused by Salmonella enteritidis.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 68-year-old man with high fever was diagnosed as salmonella septicemia initially. His condition was improved after antibacterial treatment. But the symptom of pyrexia was recurred after some days. He was then diagnosed with thoracic spondylitis caused by salmonella enteritidis. After that, he was put on strict antibiotic treatment, and underwent intervertebral lesion debridement, partial rib resection, intervertebral bone fusion and pedicle screw internal fixation. Subsequently, the patient had a significant relief in pain, temperature remained normal, and had no severe complications.

CONCLUSIONS

Special attention should be paid to systemic pain and remain cautious to the occurrence of osteomyelitis in patients with Salmonella septicemia. Moreover, the treatment time for using sensitive antibiotics should be sufficient. Surgical treatment should be considered if strict conservative treatment is failed.

Salmonella osteomyelitis: A rare extraintestinal manifestation of an endemic pathogen

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi and Paratyphi usually cause enteric fever in humans characterized by fever and gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea. Bacteremia is a constant feature of enteric fever, and occasionally, dissemination of bacilli throughout the body results in the establishment of one or more localized foci of persisting infection. This happens especially in patients with preexisting conditions such as hemoglobinopathies, previous joint trauma, surgery, connective tissue diseases, lymphoma, diabetes, alcoholism, immunosuppressive state, and extremes of ages. Rarely, these extraintestinal Salmonella infection cases have also been reported in immunocompetent individuals without any obvious predisposing factors. Salmonella osteomyelitis, a rare sequelae of typhoid, may occur as a result of hematogenous seeding of the bone or joints due to a bacteremic episode. It may also spread from nearby areas of infection or penetrating trauma. Timely diagnosis and treatment of this condition are necessary because if left untreated, it can lead to permanent functional deficits later on. We hereby present a case series with brief review of literature on Salmonella osteomyelitis in immunocompetent patients without any known predisposing conditions over a period of 1 year (2017-2018) from a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in Uttarakhand, India.

Salmonella potsdam causing lumbar vertebral osteomyelitis: A case report

RATIONALE

Salmonella osteomyelitis is an uncommon complication of salmonella infection, especially the salmonella vertebral osteomyelitis (SVO).

PATIENT CONCERNS

We reported a case of a 29-year-old female who presented with serious lower back pain and severe limitation of motion for 50 days with no obvious inducements. She once had a fever up to 39.5°C. Physical examination only revealed limited motion of lower back without neurological complications. The laboratory results revealed no specificity. MRI of the lumbar spine revealed a spondylodiscitis at L4-L5. She underwent anterior lateral approach debridement and percutaneous posterior instrumentation.

DIAGNOSES

Tissue and abscess culture grew showed Salmonella Potsdam infection.

INTERVENTIONS

With susceptibility testing guidance, the patient was treated with intravenous levofloxacin and ceftazidime for a period of 3 weeks and another 3-week oral antibiotics therapy.

OUTCOMES

The patient recovered well with no neurological deficits during the follow-up time.

LESSONS

SVO is really rare and it alerts us the importance to consider uncommon pathogens in the differential diagnosis in which the etiological evidences are crucial of healthy individuals.