Pseudoaneurysm of the aortic arch associated with cervical spondylodiscitis.

Abstract

A case report. To report and discuss a case of pseudoaneurysm of the aortic arch presenting as hemoptysis following a cervical spondylodiscitis. The pseudoaneurysm was remote and any direct extension of the abscess was not observed from the cervical lesion. Hamamatsu Medical Center. A 73-year-old male being treated with antibiotics for a cervical spodylodiscitis deteriorated tetraplegia. Following a posterior decompression of the cervical spine and subsequent neurological recovery, hemoptysis occurred and a pseudoaneurysm of the aortic arch was identified. Emergent vascular graftings combined with dèbridement of the pseudoaneurysm and the infected cervical intervertebral disc were performed. The patient recovered gradually and the cervical spondylodiscitis disappeared. The septicemia originating from the remote cervical spondylodiscitis was thought to contribute to this pseudoaneurysm. Attention should be paid to the systemic septicemia as well as the focal spinal infection. As for cervical spondylodiscitis, posterior decompression without drainage cannot be recommended as the initial treatment.