Salmonella Osteomyelitis Mimicking Bone Metastasis in an Adult Male with Colon Cancer: A Case Report and Literature Review

Salmonella infection may present in different clinical forms, which usually cause acute gastroenteritis and enteric fever. However, it can also lead to bacteremia, an asymptomatic carrier state, and focal infections in various tissues, including bones. There are very few cases reported in the literature about Salmonella osteomyelitis and even mimicking bone metastasis. Hereby, we report a case of a 55-year-old male presenting with severe pain on the medial side of the right knee for 10 days. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an ill-defined lobulated-shaped mass in the epiphysis of the right femur, with a hyperintense signal on T2-weighted images. Surgery was performed immediately due to the patient’s severe pain. The pus culture yielded Salmonella Group B . To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of osteomyelitis of the distal femur caused by Salmonella in an adult with a colon cancer history.