Clostridium sordellii bacteremia may occur in a wide range of situations and the cause may not be immediately obvious, especially when the patient has previously been perfectly healthy.
Risk factors - obstetrics/gynecology
(1) hysterectomy
(2) following childbirth
(3) following spontaneous abortion
(4) following medically-induced abortion
Risk factors - trauma or surgery:
(1) any type of surgery, including organ transplantation
(2) any type of penetrating wound
(3) after blunt trauma or crush injury
Risk factors - other:
(1) alcohol abuse with cirrhosis
(2) cancer
(3) immunosuppression
(4) injection drug abuse
(5) intramuscular drug injection
Early signs of infection may be subtle. Diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion when an afebrile patient presents with systemic symptoms.
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