Rationale: Salmonella osteomyelitis is an uncommon complication of salmonella infection, especially the salmonella vertebral osteomyelitis (SVO).
Patient concerns: We reported a case of a 29-year-old female who presented with serious lower back pain and severe limitation of motion for 50 days with no obvious inducements. She once had a fever up to 39.5°C. Physical examination only revealed limited motion of lower back without neurological complications. The laboratory results revealed no specificity. MRI of the lumbar spine revealed a spondylodiscitis at L4-L5. She underwent anterior lateral approach debridement and percutaneous posterior instrumentation.
Diagnoses: Tissue and abscess culture grew showed Salmonella Potsdam infection.
Interventions: With susceptibility testing guidance, the patient was treated with intravenous levofloxacin and ceftazidime for a period of 3 weeks and another 3-week oral antibiotics therapy.
Outcomes: The patient recovered well with no neurological deficits during the follow-up time.
Lessons: SVO is really rare and it alerts us the importance to consider uncommon pathogens in the differential diagnosis in which the etiological evidences are crucial of healthy individuals.