Salmonella osteomyelitis is rare, accounting for <0.5% of all bacterial osteomyelitis cases, and rib involvement is exceedingly uncommon. A middle-aged immunocompetent man presented with a 6-month history of right lateral chest pain and a 1-month history of soft tissue swelling. Imaging revealed an abscess and lytic lesion of the right eighth rib. Interventional radiology–guided drainage yielded purulent material growing Salmonella species. The patient improved with intravenous ceftriaxone followed by oral ciprofloxacin. This case highlights that Salmonella can cause osteomyelitis even in immunocompetent hosts without gastrointestinal symptoms or bacteremia.
Bhargava et al. (Fri,) studied this question.