Infect Chemother.  2011 Aug;43(4):355-358. 10.3947/ic.2011.43.4.355.

Clostridium tertium Bacteremia in a Non-neutropenic Patient with Small Bowel Obstruction

• Ku NS
• Chung HS
• Lee JG
• Kim SB
• Han SH
• Choi JY
• Lee K
• Kim JM

• KMID: 1936073
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3947/ic.2011.43.4.355

Abstract

Clostridium tertium-induced bacteremia is a rare condition seen predominantly in neutropenic patients and/or patients with gastrointestinal disease. In this report, we describe a non-neutropenic, 72-year-old patient with a small bowel obstruction who presented with C. tertium bacteremia. Clostridium tertium is aerotolerant and resistant to broad-spectrum cephalosporins. The aerotolerant nature of C. tertium is resulted in delayed identification and reporting since it is not initially considered a candidate for infection.

Keyword

Clostridium tertium; Non-neutropenic; Small bowel obstruction

MeSH Terms

Aged
Bacteremia
Cephalosporins
Clostridium
Clostridium tertium
Gastrointestinal Diseases
Humans
Cephalosporins

Figure

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  Figure 1 Abdominal computed tomography (CT) at admission shows fluid-filled, dilated small bowel loops at the proximal ileum. An adhesion band is a possible cause of the obstruction (red arrows).

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  Figure 2 The simple plain X-ray on the fifth day after admission shows distended small bowel loops with air fluid level.

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  Figure 3 Morphology of Gram-stained Clostridium tertium on blood agar plates incubated aerobically (A) and anaerobically (B) (×1,000). A stained smear from an anaerobic blood agar plate shows occasional Gram-positive bacilli with oval terminal spores (black arrows) (×1,000).

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