Silent acute gastric dilatation due to Salmonella infection in a diabetic elderly

Abstract

Acute gastric dilatation is a potentially life-threatening entity that has been reported in patients with some acute infections like pneumonia and staphylococcal bacteremia. We describe a case of acute gastric dilatation presenting atypically in a 65-year-old diabetic with Salmonella diarrhoea. By the fourth day of hospital admission the patient's abdomen was distended in the absence of pain, nausea or vomiting. An abdominal radiograph showed marked gastric dilatation with no evidence of obstruction or ileus. With nasogastric tube insertion and initiation of intravenous antibiotics, the stomach was back to normal size. It is likely that Salmonella infection was the major cause of acute gastric dilatation in this patient.