Epidemiology and outcomes of clostridial bacteremia at a tertiary-care institution

A review was performed to determine the epidemiology and outcomes of clostridial bacteremia (CB) at our institution. Ninety-two percent of patients had monomicrobial CB. Patients with Clostridium innocuum bacteremia had a significantly higher 2-day mortality rate compared to patients with C. septicum and C. perfringens. CB is associated with high and rapid mortality, especially in patients with malignancy. Early mortality was significantly lower in patients receiving antibiotics with adequate coverage for Clostridium species.