Syphilitic aortitis: an uncommon cause of acquired aortopulmonary fistula.
Cardiovascular syphilis has become a medical curiosity with the advent of widespread use of penicillin for the treatment of early syphilis. We report a case of a 37-year-old man who presented with sudden onset breathlessness that worsened insidiously for 1 year. Diagnosis of syphilitic aortopulmonary fistula was confirmed by aortography, contrast computed tomography, and histopathology. The patient underwent successful surgical correction. A high level of suspicion and awareness is needed for the diagnosis of this now rare disease. This entity is only amenable to surgical correction, even as existing surgical techniques need constant improvisation and individualization to each patient.
Department of Cardiology, St. John's Medical College Hospital, Bangalore, India. srili2881967@yahoo.com
Srilakshmi M
SM
Adhyapak
Arun K
AK
Haridas
Mogalur C
MC
Yeriswamy
Mysore J
MJ
Santosh
Gurappa G
GG
Shetty
Kiron
K
Varghese
Chandrakant B
CB
Patil
Shamanna S
SS
Iyengar
Sunil
S
Joshi
D000328:Adult; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011651:Pulmonary Artery; D013589:Syphilis, Cardiovascular / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D016157:Vascular Fistula / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery