Clostridium paraputrificum bacteremia in a patient with presumptive complicated appendicitis: A case report

Abstract

Here we present a rare case of Clostridium paraputrificum bacteremia in the setting of presumptive complicated appendicitis. The patient was an elderly male who presented in respiratory failure secondary to a suspected aspiration pneumonia. A blood culture result for C. paraputrificum guided the investigation toward an abdominal source of infection as this uncommon isolate has been reported as a gastrointestinal species. He was treated with ampicillin-sulbactam while in the hospital and discharged with metronidazole along with a planned appendectomy as an outpatient. There is no tissue histopathology to date to confirm the presumptive likely diagnosis of complicated appendicitis found on abdominal imaging.

Presumptive complicating Clostridium paraputrificum bacteremia as a presenting manifestation in a patient with undiagnosed ulcerative colitis followed by acute colonic pseudo-obstruction

“…This revealed 12 cases of C. paraputrificum bacteremia reported to date. Seven of those 12 cases were accompanied by gastrointestinal pathologies associated with defective integrity of the bowel mucosa, which was thought to be a portal for entry of this organism ( Table 1 ) [6] , [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] . In 4 of the 7 cases there were underlying diseases associated with immunocompromised conditions [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] .…”

“…Multiple clinical presentations have been described in the literature. It has been known to affect adults and newborns, presenting as bacteremia, necrotizing enterocolitis, septic arthritis, or cyst formation [6] .…”

Assessing Freshwater Microbiomes from Different Storage Sources in the Caribbean Using DNA Metabarcoding

“…The detection of Clostridium paraputrificum is alarming, as it has been involved in septicemia and septic arthritis cases in humans [27][28][29][30], especially among immunocompromised patients and individuals with an extreme age range. In addition to the human pathogens, an animal pathogenic species was also detected, Corynebacterium pilosum [31,32].…”

<i>Clostridium paraputrificum</i> Bacteremia in a Patient with Rectal Cancer after Receiving Antibiotic Therapy for Acute Pharyngolaryngitis

“…In contrast, Clostridium paraputrificum is isolated in only approximately 1% of cases ( 1 ); therefore, its clinical importance is not well understood. C. paraputrificum bacteremia has been reported to be associated with various disorders, including diabetes mellitus ( 2 ), sickle-cell anemia ( 3 ), pneumonia ( 4 ), non-cyclic neutropenia ( 5 ), acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) ( 6 , 7 ), pseudomembranous colitis ( 8 ), appendicitis ( 9 ), inflammatory bowel disease ( 10 ), and colon cancer ( 11 , 12 ).…”