Salmonellosis initially seen as a thyroid abscess.

A case of Salmonella typhimurium thyroid abscess in a 79-year-old man is reported. The patient was seen with fever and neck tenderness 2 weeks after a brief episode of diarrhea. Surgical excision combined with 2 weeks of ceftriaxone, 1 g every 12 hours, resulted in complete recovery. This is only the fourth known case of Salmonella thyroid abscess, 3 of which have been caused by S. typhimurium. This organism is rarely found in other focal Salmonella infections and may therefore have a specific affinity for thyroid tissue.