Gastroenteritis associated with Campylobacter cinaedi.

The atypical Campylobacter spp. are being associated increasingly with gastroenteritis in certain population groups. We report the clinical and laboratory features of four cases (in three homosexual men and one heterosexual man) of gastroenteritis that was associated with Campylobacter cinaedi. The infection that was caused by this organism clinically was indistinguishable from other mild gut infections and resolved spontaneously without treatment. Faecal microscopy was unhelpful in the diagnosis. Successful culture of C. cinaedi required incubation of the specimen at 37 degrees C under microaerophilic conditions on cephalothin-free media--a procedure that usually is not undertaken in culturing for the more-common faecal pathogens. C. cinaedi needs to be considered in the investigation of the cause of diarrhoea in population groups such as homosexual men.