{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T08:52:28Z","timestamp":1790758348580,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,28]],"date-time":"2023-12-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1703721600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Antibiotics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Bacteria of the genus Clostridium are anaerobic Gram-positive spore-forming bacilli that include more than 200 species. Some of them are known to cause invasive infections and diseases caused by the production of toxins. Some of the diseases that are mediated by toxins are colitis in patients with specific risk factors, such as previous administration of antimicrobials or foodborne botulism. Invasive diseases include bacteremia, infective endocarditis (IE), clostridial myonecrosis (gas gangrene), and other diseases that involve the destruction of soft tissue due to the local production of toxins. The present study aimed to review all cases of IE by Clostridioides and Clostridium species and describe the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of these infections. A narrative review was performed based on a search in PubMed and Scopus for studies published until 11 September 2023, providing such data of IE caused by Clostridioides and Clostridium species in humans. A total of 20 studies containing data for 21 patients were included. A prosthetic valve was present in 5 patients (23.8%). The aortic valve was the most commonly involved, followed by the mitral valve. Fever, sepsis, and embolic phenomena were the most common clinical presentations. Beta-lactams and metronidazole were the most commonly used antimicrobials. Surgery was performed in nine patients (45%). Mortality reached 33.3%. IE in multiple valves was associated with increased mortality. Despite the heterogeneous genetic and molecular characteristics that necessitate the taxonomic change of some of this genus\u2019s previous members, the clinical syndrome of IE caused by these bacteria seems to have similar characteristics.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics13010033","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,28]],"date-time":"2023-12-28T11:44:57Z","timestamp":1703763897000},"page":"33","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Infective Endocarditis by Clostridioides and Clostridium Species\u2014A Narrative Review"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1082-5674","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Petros","family":"Ioannou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ioannis","family":"Kopidakis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eirini","family":"Makraki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stella","family":"Baliou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"George","family":"Samonis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1435","DOI":"10.1161\/CIR.0000000000000296","article-title":"Infective Endocarditis in Adults: Diagnosis, Antimicrobial Therapy, and Management of Complications: A Scientific Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association","volume":"132","author":"Baddour","year":"2015","journal-title":"Circulation"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"72","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2018.7596","article-title":"Management Considerations in Infective Endocarditis: A Review","volume":"320","author":"Wang","year":"2018","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.21037\/cdt.2016.08.09","article-title":"Epidemiological and Mortality Trends in Infective Endocarditis, a 17-Year Population-Based Prospective Study","volume":"7","author":"Cresti","year":"2017","journal-title":"Cardiovasc. 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