Pseudoaneurysm of the Superficial Femoral Artery Caused by Salmonella Enteritidis

Abstract

An eighty-two-year-old woman presented in the casualty room with fever and a pulsatile mass in the upper third of her left thigh. Ultrasonography re vealed an aneurysm of the superficial femoral artery, and emergency angiogra phy confirmed the diagnosis. Signs of aneurysmal leakage were present, and the patient underwent an emergency operation. Salmonella enteritidis was grown from intraoperative culture. Immediate postsurgical recovery was satisfactory, but three weeks later the patient developed Pseudomonas aeruginosa sepsis and died. The authors discuss this rare vascular pathology.