Clostridium difficile Bacteremia in an Elderly Patient with Multiple Comorbidities: A Case Report

Surg Infect (Larchmt). 2024 Nov 27. doi: 10.1089/sur.2024.223. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) stands as a primary cause of health-care-associated colitis in adults; however, extraintestinal manifestations of C. difficile, particularly bacteremia, are exceptionally rare. In this report, we document a case of an elderly male with multiple comorbidities who presented with an acute onset of fever. Diagnostic testing revealed the presence of concurrent bacteremia involving C. difficile and Klebsiella pneumonia. The multilocus sequence typing analysis identified this C. difficile strain as ST81. After receiving a combination treatment of vancomycin and biapenem, the patient successfully recovered and was subsequently discharged. This case report elucidates the clinical presentation and treatment strategies for C. difficile ST81 bacteremia, underscoring the critical need for heightened monitoring of extraintestinal infections in high-risk patients.

Keywords: Clostridium difficile; anaerobe; bacteremia; case report; multilocus sequence typing.