MYCOTIC THORACIC AORTIC ANEURYSM: REVIEW OF THE DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS

Along with greater life-expectancy, the prevalence of aortic aneurysm and its infected complicated variant increases. We present the case of a mycotic aortic aneurysm. Mycotic aneurysms represent only between 0,7% and 2,6% of all aortic aneurysms (1, 2). It is a highly lethal variant of the classical aortic aneurysm in which death supervenes in all cases that are left untreated (1). Up to 60% of mycotic aortic aneurysms may present as ruptured. (3) Time from admission to diagnosis of mycotic thoracic aortic aneurysm ranges from 1 to 4 days and the time from diagnosis to the necessity of surgery 1 to 11 days (4). Adequate knowledge about the diagnostic and therapeutic options is mandatory to improve survival and will be reviewed in this article.