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Case Reports: Unusual presentation of more common disease/injury
Rare case of infective aortitis with aortic rupture and cardiac tamponade in a young child
  1. Manas Datta,
  2. Sangeetha Pradeep and
  3. Mainak Aditya
  1. Department of Paediatrics, Broomfield Hospital, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation trust, Chelmsford, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Mainak Aditya; m.aditya{at}nhs.net

Abstract

Aortitis and aortic dissection are very rare in children. The clinical presentation of aortitis varies across a spectrum, ranging from incidental findings to fatal aortic dissection and rupture. A high index of suspicion is needed to establish an accurate and timely diagnosis. Here, we present an unfortunate case of fatal infective aortitis with aortic rupture and cardiac tamponade in a healthy toddler. Postmortem report implicated Kingella kingae as the causative organism of aortic pseudoaneurysm and rupture, leading to the instantaneous death of the child.

  • Paediatrics
  • Pericardial disease
  • Infectious diseases

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2022-250543

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors MD, SP and MA were jointly involved in the management of this case as well as discussion with parents. MA collected the necessary documents, consent from parents and written this case report for publication in the BMJ. Manuscript has been reviewed and approved by all three authors.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Case reports provide a valuable learning resource for the scientific community and can indicate areas of interest for future research. They should not be used in isolation to guide treatment choices or public health policy.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.