Endovascular treatment of a tuberculous infected aneurysm of the descending thoracic aorta: a word of caution

J Vasc Surg. 2007 Oct;46(4):786-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jvs.2007.05.038.

Abstract

An infected aneurysm of the thoracic aorta due to mycobacterium tuberculosis is an unusual entity for which the classical treatment is antituberculosis chemotherapy and open-chest surgery. Recent improvements in endovascular treatments have led to their proposed use for infected aneurysms in patients for whom open surgery poses too high a risk. We report on a 68-year-old man with a tuberculous aortic aneurysm who had been treated with an endoprosthesis and antituberculosis chemotherapy. His clinical and radiological follow-up was uneventful and led to the discontinuation of pharmacological treatment after 16 months. However, a recurrence of the infection led to a fatal aortic rupture 4 months after discontinuation of therapy.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aneurysm, Infected / diagnostic imaging
  • Aneurysm, Infected / drug therapy
  • Aneurysm, Infected / microbiology
  • Aneurysm, Infected / therapy*
  • Aorta, Thoracic / diagnostic imaging
  • Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic
  • Aortic Rupture / etiology
  • Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation*
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Radiography
  • Recurrence
  • Tuberculosis, Cardiovascular / diagnosis
  • Tuberculosis, Cardiovascular / diagnostic imaging
  • Tuberculosis, Cardiovascular / drug therapy
  • Tuberculosis, Cardiovascular / therapy*