Two cases of Clostridium ramosum bacteremia with intestinal perforation: The antimicrobial susceptibility of clinical strains.

ABSTRACT

Clostridium ramosum is one of the obligate anaerobes that constitute the intestinal microbiota, and one of the rare Clostridia. With Clostridium ramosum, very few data have been reported to investigate antimicrobial susceptibility for clinical isolates that have caused bacteremia. Here, we report two cases of Clostridium ramosum bacteremia. The first case was a 54-year-old Japanese man with taking 20mg hydrocortisone for hypopituitarism. He presented to the emergency department for an unknown cause cardiopulmonary arrest. At the hospital day 36, he had fever and a drop in blood pressure. Abdomen computed tomography (CT) revealed free air around the ascending colon, we diagnosed with intestinal perforation, and peritonitis. Blood culture revealed Clostridium ramosum. We administered conservative management by 6-week of antibiotic treatment. The second case was a 78-year-old Japanese man with no significant medical history. He was referred to our hospital with fever and abdominal pain. Abdomen CT revealed perforated appendicitis, and blood cultures revealed Clostridium ramosum. We performed emergency surgery, and administered one-week course of antibiotic treatment. This report demonstrates two cases of Clostridium ramosum bacteremia with intestinal perforation, and the antimicrobial susceptibility of each clinical strain. For the future, it is necessary to accumulate data on the susceptibility of clinical isolates in order to find an appropriate treatment.