Multiply resistant Salmonella typhimurium septicaemia in an immunocompromised patient successfully treated with ciprofloxacin.

A patient with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia developed a septicaemia due to a multiply resistant strain of Salmonella typhimurium probably contracted in Pakistan. This was associated with splenic abscesses and proved resistant to treatment with a succession of beta-lactam antibiotics--ceftazidime, imipenem, and mecillinam despite in-vitro sensitivity. The infection resolved completely with ciprofloxacin therapy--a new 4-quinolone antibiotic which may have an important role in the treatment of systemic salmonella infections.