Aotric esophageal fistula: etiopathogenesis and diagnostics (review of literature)

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Aortic esophageal fistula (AEF) is a rare but extremely life-threatening condition requiring immediate surgical treatment. The mortality rate among such patients may exceed 60 %, including after surgical treatment. Etiological and pathogenetic mechanisms of AEF are complex and various, but in most cases, they are associated with chronic aortic diseases. The second group of etiological factors of AEF includes trauma of esophagus wall by foreign bodies, malignant neoplasms of the esophagus or mediastinum. AEF may also occur as a result of surgical interventions on the aorta and esophagus. The difficulties of early diagnosis are primarily associated with non-specific clinical manifestations of AEF and the lack of unified protocol for the examination of patients with the first-time upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding. The described reasons in some cases can lead to an inaccurate diagnosis, which entails a loss of time. Among the instrumental diagnostic methods, the most informative is the combination of esophagogastroduodenoscopy and computed tomography of the chest with intravenous contrast enhancement. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages, and allows to identify a number of direct and indirect signs of pathological communication between the aorta and the esophagus.