Rasmussen's aneurysm: A forgotten entity?

Abstract

We present the case of a rare entity which is a complication of a disease process that had almost disappeared from the Western World. With the recent resurgence in reported cases of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) in Western communities, it is important to recognize complications and sequelae. A young alcoholic male with confirmed active TB suffered a cardiac arrest following massive haemoptysis. Multidetector computed tomography angiography diagnosed a Rasmussen's aneurysm, confirmed by digital subtraction angiography and then successfully embolized with glue. We outline this rare case and the embolization technique and review previously documented reports. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.