[Purulent pleurisy due to Salmonella typhi associated with a splenic abscess]

We report a case of 25 year old man who presented with a febrile illness and bilateral lower chest pain a pain in the left hypochondrium with fever and weight loss; investigations revealed a left sided empyema. The cause of the empyema was confirmed following the isolation in the pleural pus of Salmonella typhi. There was also a mass in the left hypochondrium which was shown on ultrasound to be a splenic abscess. After antibiotic therapy with Cotrimoxazole, repeated pleural aspirates and physiotherapy, there was a satisfactory outcome and the pleural effusion dried up and there was a significant reduction in the volume of the splenic abscess. In the light of their observations, the authors report the rare presentation of empyemas due to Salmonella typhi, the late presentation during the course of the third septenaire and the often favourable outcome under general antibiotic therapy associated with pleural aspirates to evacuate the pus and respiratory physiotherapy.