Infective abdominal aortitis due to campylobacter fetus bacteremia: A case report and review of literature

Abstract

Infectious aortitis (IA) is a rare but life-threatening condition, and most commonly affects the abdominal aorta or thoracic aorta. Various microorganisms have been associated with infectious thoracic aortitis, most commonly Staphylococcus, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, and Salmonella species. Campylobacter fetus (C. fetus) has been seen as a cause of infective aortitis only in a few case reports. We report a rare case of infective aortitis of the abdominal aorta caused due to C. fetus bacteremia. While C. fetus infections usually occur in patients with immunosuppression, such as malignancy, or those with diabetes mellitus, but our patient was not immunocompromised. Furthermore, the IA occurred in the absence of an aortic aneurysm, unlike its usual presentation. Thus, it is extremely important to establish an early diagnosis of IA and find out the causative organism for appropriate medical treatment, because this condition is potentially life threatening.