title: Mycotic aneurysm of the thoracic aorta presenting as pneumonia.
abstract: Mycotic aneurysms of the thoracic aorta rarely occur in children. We report an unusual case of a mycotic aneurysm of the descending aorta in a 4-year-old boy presenting with respiratory tract infection, which was rapidly complicated by atelectasis of the left lung. The patient's mycotic aortic aneurysm was diagnosed by contrast-enhanced spiral CT, whereas conventional chest radiographs did not detect its presence. An unsuspected mild aortic coarctation was also diagnosed at the time of admission. This case demonstrates that an aortic aneurysm may clinically and radiologically manifest itself with respiratory tract infection and atelectasis and that contrast-enhanced spiral CT is a fast and powerful tool for establishing the diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Radiology, Maggiore Hospital, Bologna, Italy. elena.mengozzi@ausl.bologna.it
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mengozzi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sartoni Galloni
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giovannini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bronzetti
mesh_terms: D000785:Aneurysm, Infected / Q000150:complications*; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001017:Aortic Coarctation / Q000150:complications; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000150:complications*; D001261:Pulmonary Atelectasis / Q000209:etiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed