Paraclostridium tenue Causing an Anaerobic Brain Abscess Identified by Whole-Metagenome Sequencing: A Case Report

Abstract

When treating anaerobic brain abscesses, healthcare professionals often face the difficulty of identifying the causal pathogens, necessitating empiric therapies with uncertain efficacy. We present the case of a 57-year-old woman who was admitted to our hospital with a fever and headache. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed a hemorrhagic lesion with wall enhancement at the left hemisphere on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging. Cerebrospinal fluid examination showed pleocytosis (23 cells/μL), an elevated protein level (125 mg/dL), and decreased glucose level (51 mg/dL; blood glucose was 128 mg/dL). Intracerebral hemorrhage accompanied by a brain abscess was clinically suspected. The patient received empirical treatment with intravenous meropenem and vancomycin for 2 weeks. However, conventional bacterial culture tests failed to identify the pathogen. We then performed shotgun sequencing and ribosomal multilocus sequence typing, which identified Paraclostridium tenue. Based on this finding, we de-escalated to benzylpenicillin potassium for 4 weeks, leading to a 2.5-year remission of the anaerobic brain abscess. Therefore, Paraclostridium can be a causative pathogen for brain abscesses. Furthermore, whole-metagenome sequencing is a promising method for detecting rare pathogens that are not identifiable by conventional bacterial culture tests. This approach enables more targeted treatment and contributes to achieving long-term remission in clinical settings.