Infectious Aortitis: Could Early Radiology Improve Patient Outcome?

Aortitis is a rare condition and easily overlooked. It is defined as infectious or non-infectious inflammation of the aortic wall. This report describes two cases of aortitis, demonstrating the diagnostic difficulty and how diagnostic delay could have been reduced if early radiology had been performed. Due to the nature of aortitis, patient outcome can be improved considerably by timely diagnosis and treatment. LEARNING POINTS: Aortitis is rarely suspected due to its vague symptoms, but diagnosis is aided by computed tomography (CT) of the thorax and abdomen. A delay in aortitis diagnosis can be life threatening; however, early radiology can ensure timely diagnosis and considerably improve patient outcome. Aortitis should always be suspected in cases with immunosuppression and systemic Salmonella infection, and a CT of the thorax and abdomen should be performed.