A Case of Ocular Infection with Clostridium tertium Caused by a Salute Gun Explosion.

Background: In February 2024, our hospital confirmed a case of ocular infection with Clostridium tertium caused by a salute gun explosion. The patient sought medical attention at our hospital due to a salute gun explosion injury in the right eye. Two days ago, a patient mistakenly believed that the fuse was not ignited when firing a salute gun. When observing, the salute gun exploded and injured his right eye. The patient immediately went to the local hos-pital for treatment. The CT scan of the local hospital showed rupture of the right eyeball. For additional diagnosis and treatment, the patient came to our hospital. The patient in this case has an acute onset, severe condition, no additional systemic diseases, and no history of drug or food allergies.

Methods: Intraocular exploration, cranial CT, local and systemic anti infection treatment. Pathogen examination items: bacterial smear, bacterial culture and identification. Venous blood test items: blood routine, liver function, kidney function, and coagulation function.

Results: Intraocular exploration showed conjunctival congestion and edema in the right eye, corneal haze and ede-ma, shallow anterior chamber, anterior chamber hemorrhage, and unclear intraocular structure. Clinical treatment: debridement and suturing of right eye rupture + repair of eyeball rupture + removal of intraocular foreign body + repair of superior rectus muscle detachment + anterior chamber flushing + anterior chamber shaping + suture of eyelid laceration. Pathogen examination item: Eye secretion bacterial smear (Gram staining): A large number of gram-positive bacilli were found, and the secretion bacterial culture and identification (MALDI-TOF MS): Clostridium tertium. Auxiliary examination: Blood routine (venous blood): White blood cells 10.89 x 109/L, neutrophil count 9.65 x 109/L, whole blood hypersensitive C-reactive protein 20.28 mg/L, renal function: urea 9.15 mmol/L, uric acid 428.5 µmol/L, fasting glucose 6.48 mmol/L, no further abnormalities observed. Clinical drug treatment plan: Tetanus human immunoglobulin 250 IU im, tobramycin eye drops 0.1 g ext qd, vancomycin 0.5 g ih qd, levofloxacin 0.5g ivgtt qd, aluminum magnesium suspension 15 mL po bid, potassium chloride sustained-release tablets 0.5 g po qd. After 7 days of treatment, the patient's body temperature returned to normal, conjunctival congestion and edema decreased, anterior chamber hemorrhage decreased, corneal incision closed properly, and the patient improved and was discharged.

Conclusions: This article reports a case of ocular infection caused by a salute gun explosion with Clostridium tertium. Clostridium tertium was quickly and accurately identified by a mass spectrometer, and reasonable treatment measures were adopted clinically. The patient improved and was discharged. I hope that in the future, this study can provide assistance for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of special site infections caused by Clostridium tertium.