Clostridial Bacteremia: Patterns of Infection

Clostridium innocuum Bacteremia in a Patient With Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

“…All but one case had an immunocompromising condition, including malignancy (n=10), organ transplantation (n=1) and AIDS (n=1). This concurs with other reports suggesting that infections with “non- perfringens ” clostridial species have a propensity to develop in immunocompromised hosts [8]. The most common presenting symptom of C. innocuum bacteremia was fevers of unknown etiology, with gastrointestinal symptoms being the second most common clinical manifestation.…”

“…The review of the literature found 13 cases of C. innocuum bacteremia or endocarditis, including this case (Table 1) [1, 4, 7]. Three other cases of bacteremia were noted in the literature, but did not include details of the individual cases [2, 8]. The median age of cases was 38 years (range 18–70 years), and 62% were male.…”

“…However, these cases often occur in the setting of immunosuppression and antibiotics are initiated immediately, given the potential for mortality, so the pathogenicity of C. innocuum in clinical specimens may be uncertain. As demonstrated by this review, severe C. innocuum infections have been well-described [1, 4, 7, 8]. In addition to bacteremia, these organisms may cause empyema, pylephlebitis, and pelvic abscesses [2, 3].…”