Internal carotid artery blister-like aneurysm caused by Aspergillus - case report

Blister-like aneurysm of the supraclinoid internal carotid artery (ICA) is a well-documented cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Generally, this type of aneurysm is associated with various conditions such as hypertension, arteriosclerosis, and ICA dissection. Although Aspergillus is the most common organism causing intracranial fungal aneurysmal formation, there is no report of a blister-like aneurysm caused by Aspergillus infection.

An 83-year-old man received corticosteroid pulse therapy followed by oral steroid therapy for an inflammatory pseudotumor of the clivus. Two months later, the patient was transported to an emergency department due to the diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage, classified as Fisher group 4. Subsequent 3D computed tomography angiogram revealed a blister-like aneurysm at the superior wall of the left ICA. Six days later, the patient died of subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by the left ICA aneurysm rerupture. Autopsy revealed proliferation of Aspergillus hyphae in the wall of the aneurysm. Notably, that change was present more densely in the inner membrane than in the outer one. Thus, it was considered that Aspergillus hyphae caused infectious aneurysm formation in the left ICA via hematogenous seeding rather than direct invasion.

The blister-like aneurysm is a rare but important cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage. This case report documents another cause of blister-like aneurysms, that is an infectious aneurysm associated with Aspergillus infection.