Endarteritis and mycotic aortic aneurysm caused by an oral strain ofActinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans

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Abstract
Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans was isolated from blood cultures of a 33-year-old febrile patient with a previously undiagnosed coarctation of the aorta. Subgingival samples from diseased periodontal pockets revealed the presence ofA. actinomycetemcomitans. An infected (mycotic) aortic aneurysm and endarteritis were diagnosed and surgically treated. The identity of blood and oral clinical isolates ofA. actinomycetemcomitans was supported by genetic analysis, including finger-printing by restriction fragment length polymorphism, ribotyping, and random amplified polymorphic DNA; biotyping; and antibiogram typing. These data strongly suggest that the periodontal pockets were the primary source ofA. actinomycetemcomitans endarteritis in this case.