A Case Report of Salmonella enterica Meningitis in an Infant: A Rare Entity not to Forget

Salmonellae are gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic Enterobacteriaceae consisting of two species, Salmonella enterica and Salmonella bongori. Invasive diseases, such as meningitis, result in hospitalization, short and long-term complications, and high mortality rates.

A 4-month-old baby girl was admitted to a district hospital because of diarrhea and fever. WBC count, urinalysis, urine cultures, and stool cultures were normal. She was treated with intravenous cefuroxime for 5 days. She was discharged on oral cefprozil for 5 days. After the end of therapy, she was admitted again to the same hospital with fever, diarrhea, vomits, and irritability. Cerebrospinal fluid examination revealed pleocytosis, while S. enterica was isolated. Empirical therapy with ceftriaxone, amikacin, and dexamethasone was started. Because of intracranial hypertension signs, she was transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit of our tertiary hospital. Therapy continued with intravenous ceftriaxone. Brain MRI revealed subarachnoid space dilatation. Increased head circumference and pulsating bregmatic fontanel led to a new cerebral MRI, in which ventricular dilatation and extraparenchymal subdural collection were noted. Ceftriaxone was changed to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin was added. She remained clinically well; her brain MRI, a week later, showed marked improvement, and the course of intravenous antibiotics for 5 weeks was completed. Her baseline immunodeficiency screening tests were normal and repeat MRI two months post-treatment cessation did not reveal the previous abnormalities.

Invasive Salmonella diseases, such as meningitis, are very uncommon in industrial countries nowadays, and the optimal management is yet not well established. Late onset of complications from Salmonella meningitis warrants more thorough neurodevelopmental follow-ups.