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Case Reports
. 2003 May;41(5):2223-6.
doi: 10.1128/JCM.41.5.2223-2226.2003.

Spondylodiscitis due to Clostridium ramosum infection in an immunocompetent elderly patient

Jean-Philippe Lavigne  1 , Nicole Bouziges, Albert Sotto, Jean-Louis Leroux, Sylvie Michaux-Charachon
Affiliations
Case Reports

Spondylodiscitis due to Clostridium ramosum infection in an immunocompetent elderly patient

Jean-Philippe Lavigne et al. J Clin Microbiol. 2003 May.

Abstract

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.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
MRI of the spine of a 74-year-old patient with an infection due to C. ramosum. This T-1 weighted sagittal image of the thoracic and lumbar spine demonstrates the classic appearance of a disk space infection at T-12-L-1.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Gram staining of C. ramosum demonstrating thin, long gram-negative and gram-variable rods.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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