Erythema nodosum associated with Salmonella enteritidis

Hippokratia 2010, 14(1):51-53

E. Mantadakis, V. Arvanitidou, A. Tsalkidis, S. Thomaidis, A. Chatzimichael


Abstract

Background: Erythema nodosum (EN) is the most frequent type of panniculitis in childhood. Although frequently idiopathic, it may be associated with a wide variety of conditions ranging from infections, to sarcoidosis, to collagen vascular diseases to drugs.
Case report: We present an 8-year-old boy who developed EN during the course of febrile gastroenteritis due to salmonella enteritidis. He received intravenous ampicillin 150 mg/kg/day divided in equal doses every six hours for 10 days. The skin lesions gradually disappeared, and he recovered fully without sequelae.
Conclusions: Salmonellosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of EN in children with gastrointestinal symptoms, and stool cultures should be performed when indicated.