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Clostridium perfringens bacteremia. Opportunist or killer?
The American Surgeon
|June 1, 1985
Summary
Clostridia bacteremia, often without a clear source, affects debilitated patients and has a high mortality rate. Antibiotic treatment showed little impact on outcomes in this study.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Microbiology
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Clostridia septicemia traditionally linked to severe infections.
- Improved anaerobic culture techniques increase detection of clostridia bacteremia.
- Increasing frequency of clostridia bacteremia in patients lacking an obvious infection source.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review clinical experience with clostridia bacteremia.
- To assess mortality rates and identify risk factors.
- To evaluate the impact of antibiotic therapy on patient outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of 29 patients with clostridia bacteremia.
- Analysis of patient demographics, clinical presentation, and outcomes.
- Assessment of infection sources and presence of polymicrobial infections.
Main Results:
- Overall mortality rate was 45%.
- No identifiable source for bacteremia in 72% of patients.
- 83% of patients had polymicrobial infections; most were debilitated with systemic disease.
Conclusions:
- Clostridia bacteremia in debilitated patients, often polymicrobial and without a clear source, is associated with high mortality.
- Antibiotic therapy demonstrated minimal effect on patient survival.
- Asymptomatic clostridial bacteremia frequently occurs in patients with advanced malignancies and chronic illnesses, with limited treatment efficacy.