Non-typhi Salmonella bacteraemia

We reviewed retrospectively the clinical records of patients with non-typhi Salmonella bacteraemia in our hospital from 1979 to 1988. During the study period 45 non-typhi Salmonella bacteraemias were diagnosed in 43 patients. Ten patients were under one year old and 11 were over 60. Seven cases of sepsis presented in patients with AIDS. Only three episodes were nosocomially acquired. In two of three patients the bacteraemia was preceded by an episode of acute gastroenteritis and one third presented without gastroenteritis. Complications and mortality were infrequent in spite of the differing degrees of adequacy of antibiotic treatment which was inappropriate in many cases. We have attempted to assess optimal antibiotic therapy, taking into account the duration and means of administration, in different groups of patients with nontyphi Salmonella bacteraemia.