title: Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair complicated by infection with Clostridium septicum.
abstract: Aortic stent-graft infection after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair is an uncommon, but very serious complication with potentially devastating consequences.(1) Traditional open techniques of repair of AAA demonstrate an infection rate of 0.5-3%. The exact rate of infection with endovascular repair is unknown, but literature review demonstrates an overall incidence of 0.43-1.17% retrospectively.(2,3) Etiology of endovascular graft infections typically results from flora derived from the skin or gastrointestinal tract.(4)Clostridium septicum is a naturally occurring anaerobic bacterium native to the gastrointestinal tract. It is typically associated with spontaneous nontraumatic gas gangrene owing to bacteremia from the gastrointestinal tract with an incidence rate of 0.07%.(5) To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of endovascular AAA graft infection owing to Clostridium septicum species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Hospital of Saint Raphael, New Haven, CT 06511, USA. scolwick@gmail.com
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Colwick
authors.forename: Fuad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alkhoury
authors.forename: Jeremiah T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Antoine M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ferneini
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000601:surgery*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000628:therapy; D052557:Clostridium septicum / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003646:Debridement; D020878:Device Removal; D057510:Endovascular Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008795:Metronidazole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000628:therapy; D012086:Reoperation; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D008795:Metronidazole