Title:Spontaneous Chest Abscess Caused by Salmonella Enterica subsp. Arizonae in the Desert Southwest; A Case Report and Review of the Current Literature
Volume: 20
Issue: 3
Author(s): Suresh Antony*Leigh Cooper
Affiliation:
- Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Center for Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine, New Mexico State University,United States
Keywords:
Salmonella arizonae, iatrogenic chest abscess, treatment, soft tissue infection, ceftriaxone.
Abstract:
Salmonella enterica subspecies arizonae is a rare pathogen but has been reported in the
literature in immunosuppressed and rarely immunocompetent patients. Most disease states have
been reported in animals and reptiles. Human exposure has resulted in a range of complications
from skin and soft tissue infections to bacteremia and periprosthetic joint infections. Predisposing
factors such as age, comorbidities, and use of Mexican folk healing practices increase the risk of
developing an infection. S. arizonae has been associated with gastrointestinal infections in several
parts of the country and on rare occasions have been isolated from skin and soft tissues, prosthetic
joints, and empyema.
Case: This is a unique case of a large de novo chest abscess that developed in a 59-year-old diabetic
male from the Southwest region with cultures growing Salmonella enterica subspecies arizonae.
This patient presented without predisposing factors and did not appear to be ill at the time of admission.
He was treated successfully by aspirating the abscess along with a 2-week course of ceftriaxone
intravenously.
