Acute renal dysfunction in salmonella gastroenteritis.

GOALS: To determine the incidence of renal function deterioration in adult patients with Salmonella infection.

BACKGROUND: Renal impairment has been described during severe Salmonella infection and is mainly due to shock, dehydration, or rhabdomyolysis. However, it is unclear whether less severe Salmonella infection also has an impact on kidney function.

STUDY: We retrospectively reviewed over a 2-year period the data of all hospitalized adult patients with microbiologically proven gastrointestinal infection. Different biologic parameters were compared between patients infected with Salmonella and patients with other gastrointestinal infections.

RESULTS: One hundred and seven patients with positive stool cultures were identified; 44 of them had proven Salmonella infection. Renal dysfunction, defined as an increase in serum creatinine above 1.5 mg/dL in men and above 1.3 mg/dL in women, was observed in 16 (36%) patients infected by Salmonella but only in 3 (5%) comparators (P<0.0001). Hydration status and creatine kinase levels were not different in patients affected by Salmonella as compared with other pathogens. Kidney function recovered in all but 1 patient.

CONCLUSIONS: Salmonella gastroenteritis in adults is frequently accompanied by renal dysfunction that is caused by mechanisms other than dehydration or rhabdomyolysis.