Salmonella Induced Aortic Aneurysm, A Case Study

Abstract

Salmonella are Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria that are common in warm-blooded animals and can cause disease in humans. Non-typhoidal Salmonellae are a leading cause of bacterial diarrhea worldwide. Non-typhoidal Salmonella infections are usually restricted to the gastrointestinal tract and spontaneously resolve but can cause develop into invasive infections like bacteremia. The clinical course of non-typhoidal Salmonella bacteremia may be affected by age, immunosuppression and other factors. Serious disease can result, especially in debilitated, elderly patients and neonates. This is a case study of a 76-year-old female who arrived in the emergency department of a large acute care hospital with fever, diarrhea, vomiting and signs of dehydration. Blood cultures were positive for Gram-negative rods identified as non-typhoidal Salmonella Group D and the patient was treated with antibiotic therapy. Low-grade fever continued, and, over a period of two weeks in the hospital, an abdominal aortic aneurysm developed and ruptured causing the patient’s death. The purpose of this case study is to alert medical professionals to the possibility of mycotic or infectious aortitis as a rare but life-threatening result of Salmonella bacteremia that can lead to aortic aneurysm. If not properly treated with a combination of intensive antibiotic therapy and surgical debridement, with aneurysm repair if necessary, it has a high rate of aortic rupture and death. In this case of Salmonella induced aortic aneurysm, the possibilty of aortic aneurysm was not anticipated, and when found, not treated surgically leading to aortic rupture and death of the patient.