2021 Volume 67 Issue 5 Pages 318-324
BCG is a vaccine made by weakening Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis group. It is widely used for the prevention of tuberculosis and the treatment of bladder cancer, and is associated with high efficacy and few adverse events. In rare cases, however, serious infections may occur, and the diagnosis and treatment of such infections may be difficult. We herein report a case of deep neck abscess that led to an infected carotid aneurysm after the intracisternal administration of BCG for bladder cancer. The patient, an 84-year-old man, developed BCG lymphadenitis in the left neck approximately one year after intracisternal infusion treatment with BCG. He was treated with antituberculosis drugs for two months; however, debridement was performed because a deep neck abscess developed and the skin gradually self-destructed. The patient continued to receive antituberculosis drugs after debridement, which developed into an infected carotid aneurysm at approximately 2 months after debridement. The rarity of BCG infection makes it difficult to definitively diagnose and treatment is difficult because of a lack of effective treatment methods. In this article, we report our experience with BCG infection and its diagnosis and treatment, and review some of the relevant literature.
