Case history
Case history
A 16-year-old boy presents with abdominal pain and diarrhea. Two days earlier, he attended a picnic where he ate undercooked chicken. He has been having about 8 bowel movements a day of moderate-volume diarrhea with no gross blood. He has severe abdominal cramping, a low-grade fever, and mild tachycardia. His physical examination is unremarkable except for abdominal tenderness, which is most significant in the right lower quadrant.
Other presentations
Usually, Campylobacter infections cause only a self-limited acute enteritis. However, occasionally patients with Campylobacter infections can have atypical presentations that mimic other diseases. An influenza-like prodrome, including fever and malaise, occurs in one third of cases. The severe abdominal pain that often accompanies Campylobacter enteritis can mimic acute appendicitis. In some cases, especially in children between 6 and 15 years old, the diarrhea never becomes apparent; their symptoms instead are nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.[4]
Campylobacter bacteremia is very rare and occurs mainly in immunocompromised patients, older patients, or patients with other serious underlying conditions including liver disease, hypogammaglobulinemia, or HIV infection.[5]
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