Chronic contained rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm: from diagnosis to endovascular resolution

Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol. 2008 Jul:31 Suppl 2:S62-6. doi: 10.1007/s00270-007-9154-y. Epub 2007 Aug 21.

Abstract

A male patient, 69 years old, presented with fever, leucocytosis, and persistent low back pain; he also had an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), as previously diagnosed by Doppler UltraSound (US), and was admitted to our hospital. On multislice computed tomography (msCT), a large abdominal mass having no definite border and involving the aorta and both of the psoas muscles was seen. This mass involved the forth-lumbar vertebra with lysis, thus simulating AAA rupture into a paraspinal collection; it was initially considered a paraspinal abscess. After magnetic resonance imaging examination and culture of the fluid aspirated from the mass, no infective organisms were found; therefore, a diagnosis of chronically contained AAA rupture was made, and an aortic endoprosthesis was subsequently implanted. The patient was discharged with decreased lumbar pain. At 12-month follow-up, no evidence of leakage was observed. To our knowledge, this is the first case of endoprosthesis implantation in a patient, who was a poor candidate for surgical intervention due to renal failure, leucocytosis and high fever, having a chronically contained AAA ruptured simulating spodylodiscitis abscess. Appropriate diagnosis and therapy resolved potentially crippling pathology and avoided surgical graft-related complications .

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / diagnosis
  • Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / therapy*
  • Aortic Rupture / diagnosis
  • Aortic Rupture / therapy*
  • Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation / methods*
  • Chronic Disease
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed