Septic
pulmonary embolism (SPE) is different from non-infectious
thromboembolism in that it causes pulmonary arterial obstruction and
inflammation by infectious emboli from various sources. There are increased
risks of SPE in
patients with
chronic kidney disease because of decreased
immunity and frequent venous
puncture with the use of indwelling venous
catheters or arterio-venous
graft (AVG). However, SPE related with AVG
infection in
end-stage renal failure patient is very rare. Recently, we experienced a typical case of septic
pulmonary embolism occurring in a 57-year-old man with infected AVG during
hemodialysis. The
patient had started
hemodialysis 10 years ago due to diabetic end stage
renal failure. Due to functional failure of the arterio-venous
fistula,
hemodialysis had been performed through an AVG on the upper left
arm 3 years before admission.