Severe acute cholangitis and bacteremia due to campylobacter jejuni: A case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Campylobacter jejuni is common cause of enteritis, but biliary infection rarely reported. An 82-year-old woman with pancreatic head cancer underwent endoscopic biliary drainage for malignant biliary obstruction. She was subsequently admitted for management of diarrhea. C. jejuni was identified in stool culture. Her symptoms resolved temporarily without antibiotics but flared up with a fever a few days later. She was diagnosed with acute cholangitis and bacteremia with C. jejuni. Endoscopic biliary drainage and antimicrobial administration improved her symptoms. As complications of C. jejuni diarrhea are rare, antibiotics are not necessarily indicated but sometimes are needed to prevent complications.