title: Clostridium difficile brain empyema after prolonged intestinal carriage.
abstract: Clostridium difficile, the most common cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, is occasionally isolated from extraintestinal sites and is usually found as part of a polymicrobial flora. We report a case of brain empyema that occurred after the recurrent intestinal carriage of a nontoxigenic strain of C. difficile. Brain abscess cultures contained both toxigenic and nontoxigenic isolates. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis showed that nontoxigenic isolates from the intestine and from the brain were identical.
authors.affiliation: Service of Bacteriology-Virology, Lariboisière Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gravisse
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barnaud
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hanau-Berçot
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Raskine
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Riahi
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gaillard
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sanson-Le-Pors
mesh_terms: D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D004653:Empyema / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D004761:Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged