title: Panophthalmitis due to clostridium septicum.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe patient survival in a rare case of endogenous Clostridium septicum sepsis with panophthalmitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational case report.
  
  
  METHODS
  Both eyes of a female patient were examined in a hospital setting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A 68-year-old woman had right orbital pain, proptosis, panophthalmitis, mental confusion and fever for 2 days. Blood cultures were significant for Clostridium septicum. The patient did not improve after treatment with intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotics and the right eye was enucleated. The patient survived the acute infection and extensive systemic evaluation revealed an undiagnosed colon carcinoma that may have been responsible for colonization and vascular dissemination of Clostridium septicum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Clostridium septicum panophthalmitis and sepsis can be the presenting sign in patients with unsuspected malignancies, particularly colon cancer. Patients can survive the infection with aggressive therapy with systemic antibiotics combined with removal of the infected tissue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Schickner
authors.forename: Alon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yarkoni
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Langer
authors.forename: Larry
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Frohman
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Folberg
authors.forename: Lucian V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Del Priore
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000628:therapy; D003013:Clostridium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015353:Eye Enucleation; D015818:Eye Infections, Bacterial / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications; D010202:Panophthalmitis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents