Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Western Journal of Medicine logoLink to The Western Journal of Medicine
. 1982 Apr;136(4):287–290.

Campylobacter Enteritis in Denver

Martin J Blaser 1,2,3, L Barth Reller 1,2,3, Nancy W Luechtefeld 1,2,3, Wen-Lan Lou Wang 1,2,3
PMCID: PMC1273710  PMID: 7090379

Abstract

To determine the relative importance of Campylobacter jejuni as a cause of diarrheal illness in patients coming to three hospitals in Denver, we cultured stool specimens from 2,670 patients over a two-year period. C jejuni was identified in the feces of 124 patients (4.6 percent), Salmonella from 90 (3.4 percent) and Shigella from 77 (2.9 percent). Most Campylobacter isolates were obtained in the summer months and from patients 10 to 29 years old. The illness usually lasted less than two weeks; predominant symptoms were diarrhea (98 percent), abdominal pain (88 percent) and fever (82 percent); patients with severe illness frequently had objective evidence of nonspecific colitis. Occult blood and leukocytes were present in stool specimens of 71 percent and 85 percent, respectively, of the patients tested. The duration and severity of illness led to antibiotic therapy in about half of the patients; erythromycin appeared effective. This study confirms the importance of C jejuni as a cause of enteritis; this microorganism should be sought routinely in fecal specimens from patients with diarrhea.

Full text

PDF
290

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Blaser M. J., Berkowitz I. D., LaForce F. M., Cravens J., Reller L. B., Wang W. L. Campylobacter enteritis: clinical and epidemiologic features. Ann Intern Med. 1979 Aug;91(2):179–185. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-91-2-179. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Blaser M. J., Glass R. I., Huq M. I., Stoll B., Kibriya G. M., Alim A. R. Isolation of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni from Bangladeshi children. J Clin Microbiol. 1980 Dec;12(6):744–747. doi: 10.1128/jcm.12.6.744-747.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Blaser M. J., Parsons R. B., Wang W. L. Acute colitis caused by Campylobacter fetus ss. jejuni. Gastroenterology. 1980 Mar;78(3):448–453. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bokkenheuser V. D., Richardson N. J., Bryner J. H., Roux D. J., Schutte A. B., Koornhof H. J., Freiman I., Hartman E. Detection of enteric campylobacteriosis in children. J Clin Microbiol. 1979 Feb;9(2):227–232. doi: 10.1128/jcm.9.2.227-232.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Butzler J. P., Skirrow M. B. Campylobacter enteritis. Clin Gastroenterol. 1979 Sep;8(3):737–765. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Cadranel S., Rodesch P., Butzler J. P., Dekeyser P. Enteritis due to "related vibrio" in children. Am J Dis Child. 1973 Aug;126(2):152–155. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.1973.02110190134004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Harris J. C., Dupont H. L., Hornick R. B. Fecal leukocytes in diarrheal illness. Ann Intern Med. 1972 May;76(5):697–703. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-76-5-697. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Havalad S., Chapple M. J., Kahakachchi M., Hargraves D. B. Convulsions associated with campylobacter enteritis. Br Med J. 1980 Apr 5;280(6219):984–985. doi: 10.1136/bmj.280.6219.984-a. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hay D. J., Ganguli L. A. Campylobacter enteritis presenting as an acute abdomen. Postgrad Med J. 1980 Mar;56(653):205–206. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.56.653.205. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Karmali M. A., Fleming P. C. Campylobacter enteritis in children. J Pediatr. 1979 Apr;94(4):527–533. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(79)80004-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kosunen T. U., Kauranen O., Martio J., Pitkänen T., Pönkä A., Hortling L., Aittoniemi S., Mutru O., Penttilä O., Koskimies S. Reactive arthritis after campylobacter jejuni enteritis in patients with HLA-B27. Lancet. 1980 Jun 14;1(8181):1312–1313. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(80)91776-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Lambert M. E., Schofield P. F., Ironside A. G., Mandal B. K. Campylobacter colitis. Br Med J. 1979 Mar 31;1(6167):857–859. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.6167.857. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Marks M. I., Pai C. H., Lafleur L., Lackman L., Hammerberg O. Yersinia enterocolitica gastroenteritis: a prospective study of clinical, bacteriologic, and epidemiologic features. J Pediatr. 1980 Jan;96(1):26–31. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(80)80318-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Norrby R., McCloskey R. V., Zackrisson G., Falsen E. Meningitis caused by Campylobacter fetus ssp jejuni. Br Med J. 1980 May 10;280(6224):1164–1164. doi: 10.1136/bmj.280.6224.1164. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Pai C. H., Sorger S., Lackman L., Sinai R. E., Marks M. I. Campylobacter gastroenteritis in children. J Pediatr. 1979 Apr;94(4):589–591. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(79)80016-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Plotkin G. R., Kluge R. M., Waldman R. H. Gastroenteritis: etiology, pathophysiology and clinical manifestations. Medicine (Baltimore) 1979 Jan;58(1):95–114. doi: 10.1097/00005792-197901000-00006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Skirrow M. B. Campylobacter enteritis: a "new" disease. Br Med J. 1977 Jul 2;2(6078):9–11. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.6078.9. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Steele T. W., McDermott S. Campylobacter enteritis in South Australia. Med J Aust. 1978 Oct 21;2(9):404–406. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1978.tb76814.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Svedhem A., Kaijser B. Campylobacter fetus subspecies jejuni: a common cause of diarrhea in Sweden. J Infect Dis. 1980 Sep;142(3):353–359. doi: 10.1093/infdis/142.3.353. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. WHEELER W. E., BORCHERS J. Vibrionic enteritis in infants. Am J Dis Child. 1961 Jan;101:60–66. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.1961.04020020062010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Western Journal of Medicine are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES