Empyema Caused byClostridium bifermentans: A Case Report

Abstract

A case of pneumonia with associated empyema caused byClostridium bifermentansis described.C bifermentansis an anaerobic, spore-forming, Gram-positive bacillus. This organism is infrequently reported as a cause of infection in humans, and older publications tended to regard it as nonpathogenic. However, in more recent reports,C bifermentanshas been documented as a cause of septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, soft tissue infection, abdominal infections, brain abscess, bacteremia and endocarditis. The present case is the third reported case of empyema caused byC bifermentans,and it serves to further define the spectrum of illness due to this uncommon organism.