Acute myopericarditis caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis: a case report

Acute myopericarditis can be caused by a myriad of infectious and non-infectious aetiologies, however, it is often considered to be due to self-limiting viral infection. Salmonella spp. myopericarditis is rare and the few cases in the literature suggest significant associated morbidity and mortality.

A 44-year-old man presented with fever, dyspnoea, and chest pain. He was found to have a large pericardial effusion with clinical signs of tamponade and sepsis. Therapeutic pericardiocentesis was performed and ceftriaxone and levofloxacin were administered. Fully sensitive Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) was isolated in his pericardial fluid and he made a full recovery after a 4-week course of ciprofloxacin. A new diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus was made on admission. A follow-up cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) scan was suggestive of myocarditis which was unexpected given a normal Troponin T level on presentation.

We report a rare case of S. Enteritidis myopericarditis. Our case is notable as the patient was immunocompetent apart from newly diagnosed diabetes. This case highlights the value of CMR imaging in assessing for myocarditis and ventricular function.