Bacteremia due to clostridium difficile: case report and review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to report a case of C. difficile bacteremia in a Crohn's disease patient and to review the literature on previously reported cases.

METHODS

Searches of MEDLINE and PubMed databases were made.

RESULTS

We report the first case of C. difficile bacteremia in a Crohn's disease patient. There are 15 other reported cases of C. difficile bacteremia reported in the literature. We found that the majority of patients (10 of 15 patients) had polymicrobial bacteremia and that the overall mortality rate is significant, with 6 of 15 reported patients dying.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, we find that C. difficile bacteremia is associated with a significant mortality rate and it would seem prudent to consider aggressive antibiotic therapy.