Ann Clin Microbiol.  2015 Sep;18(3):98-101. 10.5145/ACM.2015.18.3.98.

Two Cases of Bacteremias Caused by Clostridium ramosum

• Lim YK
• Oh SM
• Kweon OJ
• Lee MK

• KMID: 2052104
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2015.18.3.98

Abstract

Clostridium ramosum is Gram-positive anaerobic bacillus and is known as a non-pathogenic enteric bacterium. It is a member of the RIC group, which is a subgroup of Clostridium having atypical characteristics. Rarely, it has been reported as a pathogen of otitis media in young children or the cause of infection in immunosuppressed adults. Here, we report the first two Korean cases of C. ramosum bacteremia in colon cancer and pressure sore cases, respectively.

Keyword

Bacteremia; Clostridium ramosum; Immunocompromised host

MeSH Terms

Adult
Bacillus
Bacteremia*
Child
Clostridium*
Colonic Neoplasms
Humans
Immunocompromised Host
Otitis Media
Pressure Ulcer

Reference

1.Versalovic J. American Society for Microbiology. Manual of clinical microbiology. 10th ed.Washington, DC: ASM Press;2011.

2.Alexander CJ., Citron DM., Brazier JS., Goldstein EJ. Identification and antimicrobial resistance patterns of clinical isolates of Clostridium clostridioforme, Clostridium innocuum, and Clostridium ramosum compared with those of clinical isolates of Clostridium perfringens. J Clin Microbiol. 1995. 33:3209–15.

3.Becker N., Kunath J., Loh G., Blaut M. Human intestinal micro-biota: characterization of a simplified and stable gnotobiotic rat model. Gut Microbes. 2011. 2:25–33.

4.Forrester JD., Spain DA. Clostridium ramosum bacteremia: case report and literature review. Surg Infect (Larchmt). 2014. 15:343–6.

5.Lavigne JP., Bouziges N., Sotto A., Leroux JL., Michaux-Charachon S. Spondylodiscitis due to Clostridium ramosum infection in an immunocompetent elderly patient. J Clin Microbiol. 2003. 41:2223–6.

6.Senda S., Fujiyama Y., Ushijima T., Hodohara K., Bamba T., Hosoda S, et al. Clostridium ramosum, an IgA protease-producing species and its ecology in the human intestinal tract. Microbiol Immunol. 1985. 29:1019–28.

7.Brook I. Clostridial infection in children. J Med Microbiol. 1995. 42:78–82.

8.Muakkassa WF., Mohanty PK., Kipreous B., Lee HM., Goldman MH. Left ventricular mass with septic (Clostridium ramosum) arterial emboli in a renal allograft patient: report of a case and review of the literature. Transplant Proc. 1983. 15:1715–9.

9.Miret C., Fernández-Sola J., Molleda M., De Dios A. Clostridium ramosum: a rare cause of brain abscess. An Med Interna. 1998. 15:392–3.

10.Rennie RP., Brosnikoff C., Turnbull L., Reller LB., Mirrett S., Janda W, et al. Multicenter evaluation of the Vitek 2 anaerobe and Cory-nebacterium identification card. J Clin Microbiol. 2008. 46:2646–51.

11.Justesen US., Holm A., Knudsen E., Andersen LB., Jensen TG., Kemp M, et al. Species identification of clinical isolates of anaerobic bacteria: a comparison of two matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry systems. J Clin Microbiol. 2011. 49:4314–8.

12.Nagy E., Becker S., Kostrzewa M., Barta N., Urbán E. The value of MALDI-TOF MS for the identification of clinically relevant anaerobic bacteria in routine laboratories. J Med Microbiol. 2012. 61:1393–400.

13.Lee W., Kim M., Yong D., Jeong SH., Lee K., Chong Y. Evaluation of VITEK mass spectrometry (MS), a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight MS system for identification of anaerobic bacteria. Ann Lab Med. 2015. 35:69–75.

14.Tally FP., Armfield AY., Dowell VR Jr., Kwok YY., Sutter VL., Finegold SM. Susceptibility of Clostridium ramosum to antimicrobial agents. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1974. 5:589–93.