DIAGNOSIS OF CONTAINED AORTIC RUPTURE BY TRANSESOPHAGEAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY

Hematogenous seeding is the most common mechanism for the development of peripheral arterial infections. Echocardiography, and especially transesophageal echocardiography, has played an increasingly important role in the diagnosis of aortic pathology. Rupture of an aortic aneurysm is difficult to diagnose antemortem, and requires a high index of suspicion and a rapid diagnosis if surgery is to be beneficial. We present a case of a ruptured aortic aneurysm secondary to seeding from B. fragilis bacteremia suspected by transesophageal echocardiography and confirmed by surgical exploration. The two-dimensional echocardiographic and color flow Doppler findings are described and differentiated from those seen in an aortic dissection.