Short report

The clinical spectrum of Clostridium sordellii bacteraemia: two case reports and a review of the literature

Aza Abdulla¹ and Lian Yee²

¹ Department of Medicine for the Elderly, Orpington Hospital, Sevenoaks Road, Orpington, Kent BR6 9JU, UK
² Department of Medicine and Elderly Care, Department of Microbiology, Mid-Staffordshire General Hospitals Trust, Stafford ST16, UK

Correspondence to:
Dr Yee

Clostridium sordellii is rarely associated with disease in humans. Since its first report in 1922 only a few cases of bacteraemia have been reported. This report describes two cases of C sordellii bacteraemia; the oldest and youngest patients reported to date. The first, is a previously well 81 year old woman presented with perianal infection, which was later complicated by thrombosis of the aorta, and the second is a 12 year old boy with epilepsy who presented with an ear infection. These cases are also highlighted to demonstrate the wide spectrum of presentation of sordellii bacteraemia.

Key Words: Clostridium sordellii • bacteraemia • aortic thrombosis • acute renal failure • renal cortical necrosis

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