A Rare Finding of Clostridium Tertium in an Immunocompetent Patient Following Gynecological Surgery

Author(s): Lauren Leightell-Brown, Alexander Frost-Younger, Stuart Rundle, Christine Ang

Clostridium tertium (C. tertium) is a Gram-positive, aerotolerant bacillus and a rare human pathogen usually identified in neutropenic patients with hematological malignancy. Limited case reports in non-neutropenic patients suggest the C. tertium is a potential pathogen when associated with risk factors which include intestinal mucosal disruption and beta-lactam antibiotic use. Our case is a 59-year-old woman who developed a post-operative collection containing C.tertium following complete cytoreductive surgery for high-grade serous cancer of tuboovarian origin in the absence of neutropenia. To our knowledge, this is the first documented case of C. tertium infection in a post-operative Gynecological-Oncology patient.