Bone and joint infections caused by Clostridium perfringens: a case series

The objective of this study was to evaluate antimicrobial therapy outcomes of bone and joint infections (BJI) caused by Clostridium perfringens . We investigated remission of symptoms and the absence of relapse or reinfection during follow-up. Among the 8 patients with C. perfringens BJI, the type of infection was early prosthesis infection ( n = 2), osteosynthetic device infection ( n = 4), and chronic osteomyeletis ( n = 2). Clindamycin-rifampicin combination was given in 4 cases and metronidazole in 4 cases. The overall success rate was 87.5%. Among the 7 patients who completed antibiotic treatment, the success rate was 100%. The clindamycin-rifampicin combination appeared to be effective in patients with C. perfringens BJI.