Antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter: an increasing problem
- 1 Department of Gastroenterology, St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London, UK
- 2 Department of Microbiology, St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London, UK
- 3 Department of Infectious Disease, St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London, UK
- 4 Department of Gastroenterology, St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London, UK
- Dr A J Kent, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, 369 Fulham Road, London SW10 9NH, UK; ajkent{at}hotmail.co.uk
- Received 31 October 2007
- Accepted 16 January 2008
Abstract
The case is described of a 27-year-old woman who presented with an acute diarrhoeal illness. She was initially poorly responsive to antibiotics and developed lymphocytic ascites. Diagnosis was difficult to establish, and peritoneal tuberculosis was considered to be the most likely cause of her symptoms. Serological tests eventually confirmed Campylobacter jejuni infection. Campylobacter is one of the most common bacterial diarrhoeal infections, and complications, except for colitis, are rare except in specific disease states—for example, patients with cirrhosis or undergoing peritoneal dialysis. Antibiotic resistance is an increasing problem, and this may potentially lead to a greater incidence of complications in the future.
Footnotes
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Competing interests: None.
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Patient consent: Patient consent has been received for publication of the case details and the figures.
