A Case of a Mycotic Aneurysm of the Superficial Femoral Artery Infected by Mixed Bacterial Species

Abstract

A 65-year-old woman, recently diagnosed with diabetes, presented with fever and a warm, pulsatile, tender mass over the medial aspect of her left thigh. She gave a history of diarrhea two weeks earlier. All lower limb pulses were present. CRP was 18.3 mg/l with evidence of neutrophil leukocytosis.Contrast angiography demonstrated a saccular aneurysm in her left superficial femoral artery (SFA). The aneurysm and surrounding infected, necrotic muscle was excised, and the limb was re-vascularized in-situ. Cultures from the aneurysmal wall grew both coliform bacilli and staphylococcus aureus. A mycotic aneurysm of the SFA, following a previous gastroenteritis, harbouring both staphylococcal and coliforms, makes this case unique.