Clostridium botulinum – like organism bacteremia in a user of black tar heroin
Therese Battiola,
Kristen Saad,
Taylor Nelson,
Nick Tinker,
Aaron Crosby
Affiliations
Therese Battiola
University of Utah School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, 30 N 1900 E, Room 4C104, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, United States
Kristen Saad
University of Utah School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, 30 N 1900 E, Room 4C104, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, United States
Taylor Nelson
University of Utah School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, 30 N 1900 E, Room 4C104, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, United States
Nick Tinker
Intermountain Medical Center, Department of Pharmacy, United States
Aaron Crosby
University of Utah School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, 30 N 1900 E, Room 4C104, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, United States; Intermountain Medical Center, Department of Medicine, 5169 South Cottonwood Street, Suite #300, Murray, UT 84107, United States; Corresponding author at: 30 N 1900 E, Room 4C104. Salt Lake City, UT 84132, United States.
Wound botulism due to introduction of the anaerobic bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, into otherwise sterile, relatively anaerobic tissue is a known complication of black tar heroin use. The treatment of wound botulism requires prompt initiation of antitoxin as well as antimicrobial therapy. We report the case of a patient with polymicrobial bacteremia that included a Clostridium botulinum-like organism who underwent successful treatment of their anaerobic infection with antibiotics and surgical debridement.
