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CLINICAL STUDY: DISEASE OF THE AORTIC VALVE OR AORTA

Aspergillus aortitis after cardiac surgery

^* Unidad Médico-Quirúrgica de Cardiología, Hospital General Universitario "La Paz," Madrid, Spain

Manuscript received February 11, 2002; revised manuscript received August 9, 2002, accepted August 26, 2002.

^* Reprint requests and correspondence: Dr. José A. Sobrino, U.M.Q. de Cardiología (1^a Planta Centro), Hospital General Universitario "La Paz," Paseo de la Castellana 261, 28046 Madrid, Spain.
jasobrino{at}hulp.insalud.es

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics of Aspergillus aortitis in a small series of consecutive patients.

BACKGROUND: Aspergillus infection of the ascending aorta after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery has rarely been reported and has always resulted in death.

METHODS: Aspergillus aortitis was confirmed by pathologic and microbiologic analysis in eight men (61 ± 8 years) of 9,375 consecutive patients who underwent cardiac surgery between 1975 and 2000.

RESULTS: Patients presented with Aspergillus aortitis after aortic valve replacement (n = 5), coronary revascularization (n = 2), or both (n = 1). Initial symptoms appeared between the immediate postoperative period and up to two years after surgery. All patients had prolonged fever. Ante-mortem diagnosis was established in only three patients for whom transthoracic echocardiography was suggestive of aortic pseudoaneurysm and was confirmed by thoracic computed tomography or aortography. All patients had negative peripheral blood cultures. Seven patients died at short-term follow-up, and the one surviving patient was promptly treated by surgery and antifungal drugs. Pathologic examination confirmed Aspergillus aortitis with multi-organ dissemination without heart involvement in all patients except for two, in whom aortic valve endocarditis was found. Fungal cultures confirmed the presence of Aspergillus fumigatus in all patients.

CONCLUSIONS: Aspergillus aortitis is typically found after aortic valve or coronary surgery. It commonly leads to lethal multi-organ dissemination without involvement of the intracardiac structure. This entity should be considered in patients with persistent fever and negative blood cultures after open-heart surgery involving significant aortic wall damage, irrespective of the postoperative period.

Abbreviations and Acronyms   AVR   aortic valve replacement   CT   computed tomography   TEE   transesophageal echocardiogtaphy   TTE   transthoracic echocardiography

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