Campylobacter jejuni pancolitis mimicking idiopathic ulcerative colitis

Campylobacter jejuni is the most common cause of community-acquired acute bacterial diarrhea. Campylobacter diarrhea is usually accompanied by fever and abdominal pain. Campylobacter diarrhea is usually watery. Nausea, vomiting, headache, and myalgias may also be present. Tenesmus is a common feature. The majority of patients with Campylobacter diarrhea have some component of segmental colitis, usually beginning in the small bowel and progressing distally to the cecum and colon. C. jejuni is a rare cause of pancolitis. Community-acquired colitis may be caused by C. jejuni or other enteric pathogens, for example, Shigella, Entamoeba, Yersinia, Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Clostridium difficile colitis, ischemic colitis, or idiopathic ulcerative colitis. We present a case of C. jejuni pancolitis in an elderly woman. Differential diagnosis is included in the discussion. The patient’s C. jejuni pancolitis was successfully treated with a 7-day course of oral moxifloxacin.