Cerebral Salmonella typhimurium abscess in a patient with a stroke

A 59-year-old woman with renal failure was admitted in a coma with seizures. Computerized tomography (CT) revealed a frontal mass in the right cerebral hemisphere and on day 12 new low density areas had appeared in both the right and left hemisphere. Blood cultures on day 13 grew Salmonella typhimurium, and the patient died the next day. An autopsy showed cerebral infarction with abscess formation. The elusive features of non-typhoid Salmonella infections make it advisable to obtain blood and faecal cultures from susceptible patients with fever or focal disorders of unknown aetiology.