Summary

Postoperative infections are one of the most common complications in general surgery, and while rates have reduced with the routine administration of perioperative antibiotics, around 5% of patients undergoing a surgical procedure will develop an infective complication.¹ The Gram-positive, obligate anaerobe, Clostridium perfringens, is a well-known pathogen that forms part of both the environmental and gastrointestinal flora.² While more commonly associated with food poisoning, anaerobic cellulitis and traumatic gas gangrene, rare cases of spontaneous non-traumatic gas gangrene of abdominal viscera have also been recorded.³ Although potentially treatable with appropriate antibiotic cover, cases of C. perfringens can rapidly progress into fulminant and fatal sepsis.⁴ Moreover, the timing of symptom onset postoperatively can vary significantly, reports ranging from hours to days.^{5 6} We report a case of C. perfringens-induced septic shock following elective bowel resection.