Severe hemolytic anemia and acute psychosis caused by Clostridium perfringens sepsis

BACKGROUND: Clostridium perfringens septicaemia with massive hemolysis is well known. The infection induced acute hemolytic attack frequently occur in chronic corpuscular hemolytic anemias. Alterations in mental status are common in septic patients. CASE REPORT: The case of a 39-year-old woman with a history of chronic corpuscular hemolytic anemia, experiencing weakness, pallor, somnolence is presented. Hypothermia and an acute paranoid psychotic episode subsequently developed in the hospital. C. perfringens sepsis was detected from blood cultures. The patient was cured by penicillin and clindamycin. Her symptoms disappeared and there was total resolution of toxic encephalopathy according to the brain MRI after 6 weeks. CONCLUSION: This report discusses the possible explanation of clostridial sepsis the role of brain MRI in the sepsis-induced organic psychosyndromes and underlines the need for obtain blood cultures in hypothermia suggestive to sepsis.