Non-typhoidal, Non-paratyphoidal Salmonella Species Causing Sacroiliitis and Pyomyositis in a Healthy 19-Year-Old Athlete

Abstract

Salmonella is a gram-negative bacterium, subdivided into typhoidal and non-typhoidal Salmonella. It is usually caused by eating raw or undercooked meat, poultry, eggs, or egg products. The clinical manifestations of Salmonella infection can be divided into five syndromes: enterocolitis (food poisoning), enteric (typhoid) fever, bacteremia/septicemia, focal infection, and a chronic carrier state, which is usually asymptomatic. The most common clinical presentation is diarrhea. Salmonella osteomyelitis occurs most frequently in patients with sickle-cell disease; other risk factors include other hemoglobinopathies, immunocompromised status, and chronic Salmonella carrier state. The incidence of Salmonella osteomyelitis/septic arthritis in otherwise healthy individuals is rare. The duration of symptoms can range from a few months to several years, and multifocal involvement occurs in 15% of reported cases of Salmonella osteomyelitis. The symptoms of Salmonella osteomyelitis are pain and variable swelling of the affected limb; high temperatures are rarely noted. Our patient is a 19-year-old boy with no known past medical history who presented with severe right-sided sacroiliitis with extensive surrounding osteomyelitis on both sides of the sacroiliac joint with non-typhoidal, non-paratyphoidal Salmonella bacteremia.