ARTERIAL ANEURYSM DUE TO LISTERIA-MONOCYTOGENES

Introduction. - Infections due to Listeria monocytogenes usually occur in pregnant women, in the elderly and in immunocompromised patients. Arterial aneurysms dire to this germ are rare. Only 16 cases have been previously described in the literature. Exegesis. - We report the cas e of a patient who had been hospitalized for recurrent fever over the past 3 months. Aortic mycotic aneurysm was diagnosed blood and aneurys m cultures revealed Gram-positive bacilli consistent with the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. We also review previous reports focusing o n infections due to Listeria monocytogenes. Mycotic aneurysms dire to this germ are mainly observed in elderly male patients and occur on la rge arteries. In the present study, only one patient was immunocomprom ised. Furthermore, all patients who were not operated on died. Conclus ion. - Arterial aneurysm due to Listeria moncytogenes is best managed via surgical resection in combination with antimicrobial therapy. Immu nosuppression is not necessary for the development of arterial aneurys m due to Listeria. Bacteriological and histological examinations shoul d be done systematically when surgical resection of an aneurysm is req uired. (C) 1998 Elsevier, Paris.