Acute Salmonella typhimurium Aneurysmal Aortitis With Bacteremia, Pneumonia, and Thoracic Aortic Dissection in an Elderly Male

Nontyphoidal Salmonellae (NTS) often cause self-limiting gastroenteritis in adults, known as salmonellosis. Salmonellosis has remained controlled in the United States due to intensive measures. Infrequently, these patients develop bacteremia and local or disseminated infections after salmonellosis. NTS endovascular infections are frequent in patients with immunosuppression, indwelling prosthetic vascular grafts, atherosclerotic vascular disease, or aortic aneurysms. NTS endovascular infections are uncommon in immunocompetent adults. Similarly, other focal extraintestinal infections such as pneumonia are also rare. A PubMed review of the medical literature reveals few cases in healthy adults with bacteremia, pneumonia, and acute infectious thoracic aortitis with dissection due to Salmonella typhimurium. We present an elderly White male with salmonellosis followed by S. typhimurium bacteremia with pneumonia and an acute thoracic aortic dissection three weeks later. He was treated successfully with endovascular repair and antibiotics.