Septic Shock and Spontaneous Gangrenous Gas Necrosis of the Spleen Secondary to Clostridium perfringens: The Importance of Source Control

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Morgan Oskutis, Emory University; Matthew Reaven, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-01-01
• Publisher: Hindawi
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2021 Morgan Oskutis and Matthew Reaven.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/5563071
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Case Reports in Critical Care
• Volume: 2021
• Start Page: 5563071
• End Page: 5563071
• Grant/Funding Information: No specific funding was provided for this research, but was performed as part of the authors' employment at Emory University.
• Keywords: Septic Shock; Clostridium perfringens
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Clostridium perfringens is a rare cause of septic shock, occurring most frequently in immunocompromised patients. An uncommon cause of Clostridium perfringen septicemia is spontaneous gangrenous gas necrosis of the spleen, where the primary treatment is splenectomy. We present a case of septic shock caused by spontaneous gangrenous gas necrosis of the spleen secondary to Clostridium perfringens in a patient whose profound pancytopenia made obtaining definitive source control extremely difficult.