Background: This report highlights the first published case of fatal septic shock associated with Clostridium perfringens and Enterococcus avium bacteremia due to infective gastroenteritis. Case presentation:We report a case of hepatic infarction, abscess, and death following gastroenteritis in a 63year-old Aboriginal man who initially presented to a rural hospital with suspected food poisoning. The patient had persistent fever and was commenced on empirical antibiotics. His blood culture results were positive for Clostridium perfringens and Enterococcus avium. He was transferred to a tertiary center but developed organ failure and refractory shock. Initial computed tomography of the abdomen was unremarkable, but repeat imaging showed small bowel enteritis, hepatic abscess, and infarction as a result of portal vein septic thromboembolism. Despite maximal intensive care treatment, including percutaneous drainage of hepatic abscess and broad antibiotic cover, the patient died 6 days after initial presentation. Conclusions: This case highlights the rare but commonly fatal course of sepsis associated with Clostridium perfringens bacteremia and demonstrates detrimental effects of coinfection with Enterococcus avium, including potential for rapidly seeding abscess formation. Lessons for rural practice are highlighted, including the need for urgent and early referral for intensive care support, particularly for patients with complex comorbidities.

Purpose Our 174-bed hospital operates a 23-hour/day procedure unit without a dedicated on-site high dependency unit or intensive care unit. The purpose of this investigation is to assess the incidence of medical emergency response (MER) and Code Blue (CB) events over 12 months. Patients and Methods A retrospective analysis of hospital records was conducted. Patients were identified using the medical emergency team (MET) database. Information pertaining to whether the patient was pre-operative, post-operative (including time and characteristics of the operation), or medical short stay overflow was obtained, in addition to the reason for the MER/CB event and outcome of the event. Results Of all hospital events, 8.45% (47 of 550) occurred in the perioperative ward. The incidence rate of events was 0.76% (95% CI: 0.53% to 0.99%) of all scheduled operations. The surgical procedure cancellation rate due to pre-operative MER/CB events was 0.11% (95% CI: 0.02% to 0.20%). Orthopedic surgery and ENT surgery were associated with the highest incidence of MER/CB events. Post-operative hypotension and reduced consciousness associated with vasovagal episodes were the most common clusters. The mean time after the operation for events to occur was 5.21 hours. 25.5% of events occurred outside of standard day surgery operating hours when there was limited access to onsite consultant anaesthetic or surgical staff (17:00 to 08:00). Conclusion This study highlights the anticipated medical emergencies for a 23-hour procedural unit and is of particular interest for evaluation by other short stay surgical, outpatient procedural, or rural hospital surgical units with limited after hours on-site critical care support.