Acute Pyelonephritis Associated with Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: An Unusual Presentation

• Autor(a) principal: Nascimento, Rafael Ferreira
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Morna, Carolina, Bilreiro, Mariana, Correia, Ines
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/35856
• topic: acute pielonefritis; ruptured abdominal aortic; Escherichia coli; Madeira Island; Portugal; Região Autónoma da Madeira

We describe a rare presentation of acute pyelonephritis associated with a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. A 68-year-old female presented to the emergency department with a 3 day history of cystitis. General examination revealed the acute onset of pain in the left flank accompanied by fever and chills. Blood tests revealed leucocytosis 25,400×109/L and C-reactive protein 495 mg/L (<6.1), while urinary sediment analysis revealed many leucocytes and gram-negative bacteria. The patient was admitted with acute piyelonephritis. On the third day of admission, the urine culture isolated Escherichia coli sensitive to the antibiotic prescribed; however, the patient clinically deteriorated. A computed tomography scan revealed a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm involving the left renal artery. The patient underwent an exploratory laparotomy but uncontrollable haemorrhage led to a fatal outcome. This case highlights a rare case of acute pyelonephritis associated with a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. A computed tomography scan or abdominal ultrasound should be considered whenever a patient has acute pyelonephritis with a C-reactive protein >400 mg/L in order to exclude complications and other potentially fatal pathologies.