Bifidobacterium Bacteremia Following Gastrointestinal (GI) Procedures: A Case Report of an Unusual Infection and Review of the Literature

Bifidobacterium is a rare cause of bacteremia that mostly affects extremes of ages with the majority of cases seen in premature infants. This report details a case of bacteremia caused by Bifidobacterium in a 75-year-old male patient. Our patient was admitted after a mechanical fall resulting in subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhage. His hospital course was complicated by swallowing problems and ultimately needed the placement of a gastrojejunal (GJ) tube for nutrition. He subsequently developed Bifidobacterium bacteremia. It was presumed that the GJ tube was the cause of bacterial translocation into the bloodstream due to invasion of the mucosal barrier. Similar to previous reports the infection was responsive to piperacillin-tazobactam (beta-lactam antibiotic).