[Abdominal aortic aneurysm infected with Campylobacter fetus spp fetus. Report of a case and review of the literature].

Aortic aneurysm infected with Campylobacter fetus spp fetus is rare, the first case having been reported in 1971. We present a case of abdominal aortic aneurysm, with a history of abdominal pain, fever and chills, with identification of this gram negative bacillus in the culture of the aortic wall and visualization of the microorganism in histological examination. Surgical correction was performed by interposition of a dracon prosthetic graft. The patient had a good postoperative course, receiving prolonged antibiotic therapy (intravenous cephalothin for 7 days and oral erythromycin for 6 months), remaining without symptoms for 12 months, when the follow-up was ended. In the 11 cases reported in the literature, 9 presented fever, suggesting the infectious etiology. Four were operated on with the aneurysm already ruptured and all of them died. The other patients, with non-ruptured aneurysms at the time of the operation, were all symptomatic, and they survived. Anatomic reconstruction was performed in 4 cases, with dacron graft interposition and antibioticotherapy, without reported signs of infection on the follow-up (6 to 45 months). Aortic infection with Campylobacter fetus spp fetus is potentially fatal, needing immediate surgical treatment. It is possible to have good long term results with an anatomically placed prosthetic graft and antibiotic therapy.