Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T14:20:49.697Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

False aneurysm of the pulmonary trunk complicating complete transposition and presenting as pyrexia of unknown origin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 August 2008

Leon M. Gerlis ,
Rafael Hirsch  and
Jane Somerville
Leon M. Gerlis*
Affiliation:
Grown-Up Congenital Heart Unit, The Royal Brompton Hospital, London
Rafael Hirsch
Affiliation:
Grown-Up Congenital Heart Unit, The Royal Brompton Hospital, London
Jane Somerville
Affiliation:
Grown-Up Congenital Heart Unit, The Royal Brompton Hospital, London
*
Dr. L. M. Gerlis, Department of Paediatrics, National Heart & Lung Institute, London SW3 6LY, United Kingdom. Tel. 0171 351 8751 Fax.0171 351 8230
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

A patient with complete transposition and a ventricular septal defect was clinically improved by an atrial septectomy at nine years but continued sepsis in the thoracotomy scar resulted in blood-stream infection with Staphylococcus aureus at the age of 24 years. A deep nylon suture was found and removed at surgical exploration. Five months later she again became febrile and had a vasculitic skin rash which responded to antibiotic therapy. At that time she was cyanosed and had a restricted exercise tolerance and was found to have aneurysmal dilatation of the pulmonary trunk. A year later she had acute chest pain with increased breathlessness, fever, hepatomegaly and pulmonary regurgitation. The fever did not respond to antibiotic therapy and she died suddenly following removal of a Hickman line. At postmortem examination, there was found to be a false aneurysm in the mediastinum due to rupture of the aneurysmal pulmonary trunk. No evidence of infection was found and it was considered that the low grade pyrexia had been due to the large hematoma within the false aneurysm.

Keywords

Congenital heart diseasepulmonary trunk false aneurysmcomplete transpositionpyrexia of unknown originhematoma
Type
Clinicopathological Correlation
Information
Cardiology in the Young , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , April 1996 , pp. 166 - 170
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Chmel, H, Palmer, JA, Eikman, EA. Soft tissue haematoma as a cause of fever in the adult. Diag Microbial and Infect Dis 1988; 11: 215–219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Clark, SA, Ehrlich, MG, Mankin, HJ, Ryan, JF, Doppelt, SH. Haematoma-induced febrile response in the pediatric patient. J Ped Orthoped 1983; 3: 333–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar