Small bowel perforation secondary to enteric Salmonella paratyphi A infection

Abstract

A patient of Pakistani-origin was admitted to Bradford Royal Infirmary, UK, following a 3-week history of cough, headache and general malaise. He had recently spent 10 weeks in Pakistan and on return had been diagnosed in the community with Swine flu. He developed abdominal pain and diarrhoea in the week prior to admission, and presented to hospital with fever, tachycardia and raised inflammatory markers. He deteriorated rapidly, developing signs of peritonism and Salmonella paratyphi A was grown from blood cultures. CT demonstrated a small volume of free fluid within the abdomen and the patient underwent laparotomy. A small bowel perforation was resected and a side to side anastomosis fashioned. Treatment with intravenous antibiotics was completed and the patient was discharged 9 days postoperatively.