Spondylodiscitis due to Clostridium ramosum infection in an immunocompetent elderly patient.
The first ever case of spondylodiscitis caused by Clostridium ramosum in an elderly immunocompetent patient has been reported. C. ramosum is usually an intestinal bacterium but may occasionally be isolated in clinical specimens as an opportunistic pathogen. This report shows that this anaerobic organism can cause bone tropism without there having been any contamination due to spinal surgery. The infection cleared after empirical therapy using intravenous amoxicillin and oral metronidazole.
Laboratoire de Bactériologie, Virologie et Parasitologie, CHU Carémeau, and Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Unité 431, Faculté de Médecine, 30029 Nîmes, France. micro@sc.univ-montp1.fr
Jean-Philippe
JP
Lavigne
Nicole
N
Bouziges
Albert
A
Sotto
Jean-Louis
JL
Leroux
Sylvie
S
Michaux-Charachon
D000368:Aged; D001483:Base Sequence; D003013:Clostridium / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D015299:Discitis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007121:Immunocompetence; D008297:Male; D013045:Species Specificity
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal