Bacteremia due to Succinivibrio dextrinosolvens: report of a case

An unusual case report of a patient with bacteremia due to Succinivibrio dextrinosolvens is presented. Heretofore, Succinivibrio spp. were thought to occur only as organisms in the rumens of herbivorous animals. Sucinivibrio is an anaerobic, Gram negative, curved, spiral bacillus with a polar monotrichous flagellar pattern. Volatile acids produced from glucose metabolism include succinic, acetic, formic and lactic. Various carbohydrate substrates are fermented to produce strong or weak acid end points. Succinivibrio spp. will grow in bile, will not hydrolyze esculin or starch, and do not produce indol, catalase, lecithinase, lipase, or hemolysis. Bacteremia in this case was thought to have been the result of hypotension in the course of severe gastrointestinal hemorrhage. This is thought to represent the first published case of human infection due to Succinivibrio spp.