Clostridium perfringens bacteremia. Opportunist or killer?

Clostridia septicemia has traditionally been associated with severe histocytotoxic infections. Recently, due to better anaerobic culture techniques, clostridia bacteremia is seen with increasing frequency in patients without an obvious source of infection. The authors reviewed their experience with 29 patients with clostridia bacteremia. The overall mortality rate was 45 per cent. No obvious source for the clostridia bacteremia was identified in 21 patients (72%). Eighty-three per cent of the patients had polymicrobial infections. The patients were generally debilitated with significant associated systemic disease. Antibiotic therapy did not appear to have any effect on mortality. Patients with asymptomatic clostridial bacteremia are, in general, patients with advanced malignancies and chronic illnesses. Antibiotic therapy appears to have little effect on the patient's outcome.