We have reviewed the clinical course of 32 children with Salmonella enteritidis bacteremia and compared them with 135 children with acute gastroenteritis caused by S. enteritidis at Wyler Children's Hospital over 4.5 years. Analysis of symptoms of infection, the initial laboratory evaluation, the initial impression of the severity of illness, the clinical course, and the eventual outcome showed no differences between children with bacteremia and those with acute gastroenteritis, nor did a comparison between older children (one year of age or older) and younger children, with either bacteremia or acute gastroenteritis, show appreciable differences. We conclude that bacteremia ocurring with acute gastroenteritis was clinically elusive and more common than previously recognized. Furthermore, in the absence of documented risk factors, bacteremia occurring with acute gastroenteritis was not associated with any greater morbidity than was acute gastroenteritis occurring alone.