Clostridium perfringens Empyema: Anaerobic Invasion in an Uncommon Location.

Cureus

Infectious Disease, Henry Ford Health System, Jackson, USA.

Published: May 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • Bacteremia can occur from skin contact with bacteria or from bacteria moving from the gut into the bloodstream.
  • In a specific case, a patient developed bacteremia and empyema (a collection of pus in the lung) due to lung damage from a pulmonary embolism, linked to gut issues rather than chest trauma.
  • The patient had gastric ulcers and thickening in the small intestine, which likely allowed bacteria to enter the bloodstream, and he improved after surgery and antibiotics; a detailed gastrointestinal examination was recommended to find the root cause.

Article Abstract

bacteremia arises due to skin inoculation from the external environment or translocation from the gastrointestinal tract. In the event of bacteremia, it tends to colonize in anaerobic environments due to its obligatory anaerobic nature. Its inoculation in the lung, albeit rare, can occur if an anaerobic nidus is created. In the presented case, the patient developed bacteremia andempyema in the area of lung necrosis caused by acute pulmonary embolism. He did not have any history of chest trauma, and the source of bacteremia was deemed to be via gut translocation. The patient was noted to have multiple gastric ulcers on endoscopy and jejunal wall thickening, which likely led to the bacterial translocation into the bloodstream. He underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery-assisted decortication and intravenous antibiotics, eventually leading to clinical improvement. To identify the source of in the absence of penetrating trauma, a thorough gastrointestinal evaluation, including a colonoscopy, is warranted to identify the pathology leading to the gastrointestinal translocation.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11164247PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.60082DOI Listing

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