Clostridium paraputrificum Bacteremia in a Patient with Rectal Cancer after Receiving Antibiotic Therapy for Acute Pharyngolaryngitis

• Published in: Internal Medicine Vol. 63; no. 11; pp. 1653 - 1657
• Main Authors: Maeda, Yasunori, Miura, Ryo, Echizenya, Takuma, Hoshi, Kentaro, Kubo, Norihito, Nakai, Hajime, Matsumoto, Kazuhito, Ikejima, Shin, Kudo, Naomi, Matsubara, Atsushi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The Japanese Society of Internal Medicine 01.06.2024; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Acute Disease; Aged, 80 and over; Anti-Bacterial Agents - adverse effects; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Antibiotics; Bacteremia; Bacteremia - diagnosis; Bacteremia - drug therapy; Bacteremia - microbiology; Case Report; Clostridioides difficile infection; Clostridium - isolation & purification; Clostridium Infections - complications; Clostridium Infections - diagnosis; Clostridium Infections - drug therapy; Clostridium paraputrificum; Colon; Emergency medical care; Fever; Gastrointestinal diseases; Humans; Laryngitis - diagnosis; Laryngitis - drug therapy; Laryngitis - microbiology; lascufloxacin; Male; microbial substitution; Patients; Pharyngitis - drug therapy; Pharyngitis - microbiology; rectal cancer; Rectal Neoplasms - drug therapy; Rectum; Tumors; Clostridium paraputrificum; Clostridioides difficile infection; lascufloxacin; microbial substitution; rectal cancer; bacteremia
• ISSN: 0918-2918; 1349-7235; 1349-7235
• DOI: 10.2169/internalmedicine.2192-23

Clostridium paraputrificum bacteremia is very rare, and its clinical importance is poorly understood. An 86-year-old man was receiving lascufloxacin therapy for acute pharyngolaryngitis before presenting to our emergency department with a recurrent fever. Two sets of blood cultures on admission revealed C. paraputrificum. A stool culture showed a reduced presence of intestinal commensal bacteria. After admission, the patient's fever resolved without antibiotics. Colonoscopy revealed a rectal tumor. Rectal tumor and microbial substitutions caused by antibiotics may have led to bacteremia. When treating C. paraputrificum bacteremia, physicians should be mindful of coexisting gastrointestinal disorders and a history of antibiotic administration.