Pulmonary and aortic endarteritis revealing a patent ductus arteriosus in an adult

The ductus arteriosus, an essential fetal structure, normally closes spontaneously soon after birth. Its persistence into late adulthood is considered to be rare; infective endarteritis (IE) complicating a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is an even rarer event. The clinical picture of an infected PDA could be subtle, and the diagnosis is frequently delayed. We present the case of a young woman who presented with prolonged fever for whom we made the diagnosis of a PDA complicated by IE, with vegetations in both pulmonary and aortic walls with mycotic aneurysms of the descending aorta. She underwent surgery and the post-operative course was uneventful. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a PDA complicated with both pulmonary and aortic endarteritis.