Infected abdominal aortic aneurysm graft complicated by lumbar discitis.

Ravi V Ayer,Andrew P Leonard,Hamzeh B Sumrein,Sally D Parry

doi:10.1259/bjrcr.20170101

Abstract

We present the case of a 68-year-old male, who underwent open abdominal aortic graft in August 2016 owing to a ruptured large infrarenal abdominal aneurysm. He subsequently presented 6 months later with back pain, general weakness, reduced mobility and cachexia. He underwent CT, MRI and fluorodeoxyglucose (PDG)-PET spinal imaging, all modalities showing signs of aortic graft infection complicated by L4/5 discitis. The patient was treated conservatively with intravenous antibiotics and spinal brace support, as his general condition did not allow for surgery. Although he showed initial clinical improvement allowing plans for supported discharge, his improvement was not sustained and he died 4 months after admission.

Highlights

Clinical presentation A 68-year-old male presented as an emergency in August 2016 with a diagnosis of a ruptured infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm
Case Report: Infected abdominal aortic aneurysm graft complicated by L4/5 discitis
Open surgical aortic grafting is one of the modalities used for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms

Summary

We present the case of a 68-year-old male, who underwent open abdominal aortic graft in August 2016 owing to a ruptured large infrarenal abdominal aneurysm He subsequently presented 6 months later with back pain, general weakness, reduced mobility and cachexia. The patient was treated conservatively with intravenous antibiotics and spinal brace support, as his general condition did not allow for surgery He showed initial clinical improvement allowing plans for supported discharge, his improvement was not sustained and he died 4 months after admission. After 6 weeks of admission, patient developed hospital-acquired pneumonia and was started on IV tazocin His bloods showed elevated white blood cells (WBC) of 14.00 10*9 l−1, CRP of 199 mg l−1. Case Report: Infected abdominal aortic aneurysm graft complicated by L4/5 discitis

Findings

Discussion

Learning points