Cholestatic hepatitis due to Salmonella typhi

Salmonella infection occurs worldwide and is still an important public health problem in many developing countries. The infection can affect almost all major organs including the liver. Severe hepatic involvement with a clinical feature of acute hepatitis is a rare complication. In this paper, a 39-year-old male with acute cholestatic typhoid hepatitis is presented. The case had a tender hepatomegaly and elevated serum alanine and aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, and gamma glutamyl transferase levels; these features cannot been distinguished from those of acute viral hepatitis. Serological and viral markers of acute viral hepatitis were negative. No pathology could be determined in abdomen Ultrasonography (USG) or Magnetic Resonance (MR) Cholangiography. As enteric fever is a common infection, the recognition of salmonella hepatitis is of clinical importance. When patients from an endemic or outbreak area present acute febrile hepatitis, typhoid fever should be a consideration.