Salmonella infections of the abdominal aorta

Salmonella accounts for up to one-third of all primary abdominal aortic infections. During the past ten years, we have treated three patients with this disease and have reviewed an additional 61 instances found in the English literature. The overall survival rate was 46 percent. Fever and back or abdominal pain were present in more than 90 percent of the patients, while a pulsatile mass was present in only 42 percent of those reported. Blood cultures were positive in 73 percent of patients. Computed tomography and angiography were helpful in delineating the presence of aneurysms and defining the extent. Twenty-two patients were treated without undergoing aortic resection; there were no survivors. One patient had an aortic resection without reconstruction and survived. Twenty-eight patients were treated with aortic resection and anatomic reconstruction. Six patients in this group died of graft sepsis and an additional six patients required graft removal for persistent infection. In contrast, 18 of 19 patients treated with extra-anatomic grafting and aneurysm resection survived, with only one death from aortic stump sepsis. No patient has required graft removal for sepsis. These results suggest that aneurysm resection and extra-anatomic bypass is the treatment of choice in patients with Salmonella infections involving the infrarenal aorta.