Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jun 16, 2021; 9(17): 4357-4364
Published online Jun 16, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i17.4357
Clostridium perfringens bloodstream infection secondary to acute pancreatitis: A case report
Ming Li, Ning Li
Ming Li, Ning Li, Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300000, China
Author contributions: Li M carried out the studies, participated in collecting the data, and drafted the manuscript; Li M performed the statistical analysis and participated in its design; Li N helped to draft the manuscript; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Consent was obtained from relatives of the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to report.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ming Li, MS, Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital, Tianjin University, No. 6 Changjiang Road, Tianjin 300000, China. lm_peasant@126.com
Received: January 21, 2021
Peer-review started: January 21, 2021
First decision: February 11, 2021
Revised: March 6, 2021
Accepted: March 25, 2021
Article in press: March 25, 2021
Published online: June 16, 2021
Processing time: 124 Days and 23.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) is an opportunistic pathogen. It can cause infections after birth, after an abortion, and in patients with diabetes, malignancy, liver cirrhosis, or an immunosuppressive state. Here, we report a patient with C. perfringens infection secondary to acute pancreatitis, with no underlying diabetes, malignancy, or liver cirrhosis.

CASE SUMMARY

A 62-year-old Han Chinese woman presented to the Tianjin Hospital of ITCWM Nankai Hospital on January 8, 2020 because of epigastric abdominal pain. Laboratory examination showed that urine amylase was 10403 U/L (reference: 47-458), and blood amylase was 1006 U/L (reference: < 100). Abdominal computed tomography showed pancreatic edema and peripancreatic exudation. She was diagnosed with mild acute pancreatitis and treated accordingly. She was readmitted the next day for similar symptoms. Two hours later, she went to the lavatory and urinated, and the urine color was like soy sauce. Oxygen saturation decreased to 77%, and she developed consciousness disturbance. She was admitted to the intensive care unit. After 8 h in the hospital, she had a high fever of 40 ℃, blood was drawn for culture, and 3 g of cefoperazone/sulbactam was administered. After 12 h, she had a cardiac arrest and died shortly. Blood culture confirmed a C. perfringens infection.

CONCLUSION

C. perfringens infection may be secondary to acute pancreatitis. Rapid recognition and aggressive early management are critical for the survival of patients with C. perfringens infection.

Keywords: Clostridium perfringens; Septicemia; Pancreatitis; Acute; Case report

Core Tip: Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) is an opportunistic pathogen. This patient had a C. perfringens infection with no underlying diabetes, malignancy, or liver cirrhosis. C. perfringens infection may be secondary to acute pancreatitis and cause quick death of the patient. Rapid recognition and aggressive early management are critical for the survival of patients with C. perfringens infection.