ENDARTERITIS AND MYCOTIC AORTIC-ANEURYSM CAUSED BY AN ORAL-STRAIN OF ACTINOBACILLUS-ACTINOMYCETEMCOMITANS

Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans was isolated from blood cultures of a 33-year-old febrile patient with a previously undiagnosed coarcta tion of the aorta. Subgingival samples from diseased periodontal pocke ts revealed the presence of A. actinomycetemcomitans. An infected (myc otic) aortic aneurysm and endarteritis were diagnosed and surgically t reated. The identity of blood and oral clinical isolates of A. actinom ycetemcomitans was supported by genetic analysis, including finger-pri nting by restriction fragment length polymorphism ribotyping, and rand om amplified polymorphic DNA; biotyping; and antibiogram typing. These data strongly suggest that the periodontal pockets were the primary s ource of A. actinomycetemcomitans endarteritis in this case.