Case history
Case history
A 14-year-old boy presents with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Eighteen hours earlier, he had been at a picnic where he ingested undercooked chicken along with a variety of other foods. He reports moderate-volume, non-bloody stools occurring 6 times a day. He has mild abdominal cramps and a low-grade fever. He is evaluated at an acute care clinic and found to be mildly tachycardic (heart rate 105 bpm) with a normal blood pressure and a low-grade temperature of 37.8°C (100.1°F). His physical examination is unremarkable except for mild diffuse abdominal tenderness and mild increased bowel sounds. He is able to take oral fluids and is instructed on the appropriate oral fluid and electrolyte rehydration.
Other presentations
Salmonella infections involving the gastrointestinal tract may occasionally present with significant abdominal pain mimicking appendicitis; this is due to infection of the mesenteric lymph nodes leading to adenitis. In addition, patients may occasionally have profuse diarrhoea mimicking cholera, or bloody stools indicating colitis, as in Shigella infections. However, stools are typically non-bloody and of low-to-medium volume.
Use of this content is subject to our disclaimer