Hepatic abscess caused by Salmonella typhi. A case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Salmonella typhi is a rare cause of liver abscess. We describe a 47-year-old African male with multiple liver abscesses due to S. typhi in an area where hepatic amebiasis is endemic. The patient did not respond appropriately to amebicidal therapy and culture of the liver aspirate on two occasions yielded S. typhi. The Widal test, initially negative, became positive on repeat testing 10 days later. Percutaneous aspiration combined with appropriate antibiotic therapy resulted in a complete recovery. No predisposing cause could be found. We report the clinical, radiological, and microbiological features of this case and review the literature on this rare but easily treatable condition.