Successful management of Histoplasma capsulatum infection of an abdominal aortic aneurysm

Abstract

A 65-year-old woman with disseminated histoplasmosis underwent resection of an atherosclerotic abdominal aortic aneurysm. Yeast forms of Histoplasma capsulatum were present in the aneurysm. Surgical resection and revascularization with a Dacron graft followed by systemic amphotericin B therapy and chronic ketoconazole suppressive therapy have resulted in a patient without symptoms 15 months postoperatively. It is important to be aware of the potential for artherosclerotic aortic aneurysm involvement by H. capsulatum.

Endovascular Infections Caused by Histoplasma capsulatum: A Case Series and Review of the Literature

“…It is an infrequent cause of native and prosthetic valve endocarditis, 6-12 endarteritis, infected aortic aneurysms, and endovascular graft infections. [13][14][15] Endovascular histoplasmosis has also been diagnosed by pathologic assessment and analysis of an embolic event. 16,17 Here, we report the clinical presentation as well as diagnostic and histopathologic findings of 5 cases of confirmed H capsulatum endovascular infections at the Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, Ohio).…”