Exacerbation of Salmonella Enteritis Due to Ampicillin

ALTERATION of the normal intestinal flora with antibacterial agents may have harmful results. Antibiotic therapy has been implicated in the pathogenesis of pseudomembranous enterocolitis1 and enteric candidiasis.2 A patient with severe diarrhea was recently observed who had been given ampicillin as a symptom-free carrier of salmonella. Administration of the drug apparently led to suppression of the normal intestinal flora and to the unrestrained growth of a salmonella species that was resistant to ampicillin.Case ReportJ.S., an 18-year-old boy, was admitted to Syracuse City Hospital on March 20, 1968, because of abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhea. Between March 5 and . . .