Flavonifractor plautii bloodstream infection in an asplenic patient with infectious colitis

Flavonifractor plautii is a gram-positive, strictly anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium. It belongs to the family of Clostridiales, is frequently found in the human gut microbiome and is rarely isolated in other human specimens.

We report a case of a bloodstream infection with Flavonifractor plautii following infectious colitis in a 24-year-old asplenic woman with beta thalassemia. The patient presented to our department with diarrhea, fever, and lower abdominal pain for over 1 month. F. plautii was the only organism isolated from blood cultures.

The antimicrobial resistance pattern showed in vitro sensitivity to all antimicrobials used for treatment; however, in vivo treatment with amoxicillin and clavulanic acid failed. After switching to meropenem and metronidazole the patient rapidly recovered.

Asplenia and a damaged intestinal wall might have favored the bloodstream infection. We found similarities in attributes of the affected patients and in treatment patterns between our case and the only three other published case reports.