Cor Vasa 2018, 60(4):e407-e411 | DOI: 10.1016/j.crvasa.2017.02.003

Acute purulent pericarditis caused by Clostridium septicum

Daniel Šulc^a,*, Martina Vaněrková^c, Martin Radvan^a, Eliška Míšková^b, Iva Kotásková^c, Jiří Bednář^a, Petr Němec^c, Tomáš Freiberger^c

^a Interní oddělení, Nemocnice Třebíč, Třebíč, Česká republika

^b Infekční oddělení, Nemocnice Třebíč, Třebíč, Česká republika

^c Centrum kardiovaskulární a transplantační chirurgie, Brno, Česká republika

Acute purulent pericarditis is a life threatening disease with a high mortality. It has a low incidence; approximately 1% of all cases of pericarditis. In the Western world the most common aetiology are staphylococci, streptococci and pneumococci, while the mycobacterial aetiology is more common in developing countries.
We describe the case of a 71-year-old man suffering from liver cirrhosis with an acute purulent pericarditis. The organism responsible for his pericarditis was Clostridium septicum; a Gram-positive obligatory pathogen, commonly associated with gastrointestinal tumours. Despite the prolonged, targeted antibiotic therapy, the infection resulted in endocarditis and the need for an urgent replacement of aortic valve.

Keywords: Acute purulent pericarditis; Clostridium septicum; Liver cirrhosis

Received: January 4, 2017; Revised: February 15, 2017; Accepted: February 16, 2017; Published: August 1, 2018  Show citation