title: Mycotic pseudoaneurysm of the femoral artery in a patient with psoriasis.
abstract: Mycotic aneurysms of the common femoral artery are rare and usually occur in intravenous drug abusers who use the femoral vessels for injection. We herein describe a case of mycotic aneurysm of the common femoral artery caused by methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus seeding of an atherosclerotic plaque in which the bacteria possibly originated from psoriatic skin lesions. A 67-year-old Caucasian man was admitted to the hospital after experiencing chest pain for two days. He was known to have psoriasis and coronary artery disease with a history of coronary artery bypass grafting surgery three years earlier. He was found to have methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia and later developed a mycotic aneurysm of the femoral artery opposite to the site of catheterization access. Mycotic aneurysms are rare clinical conditions associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In patients with psoriasis, a high prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus colonization of the skin makes possible bacterial seeding of existing atherosclerotic plaques. Therefore, the risk of mycotic pseudoaneurysm formation in these patients should be considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Jersey City Medical Center, USA.
authors.forename: Basheer
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tashtoush
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Ibarra
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abed
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017541:Aneurysm, False / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000601:surgery; D000785:Aneurysm, Infected / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000601:surgery; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000382:microbiology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011565:Psoriasis / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed