Hepatic Artery Aneurysms in Infective Endocarditis: Report of 10 Cases and Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic artery aneurysms (HAAs), albeit rare in infective endocarditis (IE), are associated with a life-threatening morbidity. METHODS: Retrospective review of 10 HAA-IE patients based on a total of 623 IE patients managed in 2 institutions (2008-2020) versus 35 literature cases. RESULTS: In our patient population, HAAs (10 males, mean age 48) were incidentally found during IE workup. All were asymptomatic. IE involved mitral (n = 6), aortic (n = 3), or mitral-aortic valve (n = 1). Predisposing factors for IE were as follows: prosthetic valve (n = 6), previous IE (n = 2), IV drug user (n = 1). Streptococcus species (spp.) were predominant (n = 4), then staphylococcus spp (n = 2) and E. faecalis (n = 2). All patients presented associated lesions: infectious aneurysms (n = 5), emboli (n = 9), abscesses (n = 5), and spondylitis/spondylodiscitis (n = 2). HAA patterns on abdominal CT angiography (CTA) were solitary (70%), mean diameter 11.7 mm (range 2-30), intrahepatic location (100%) involving the right HA in 9 out of 10 (90%) patients. In 2 patients, HAAs were complicated (rectorragia and hemobilia in 1, cholestasis in the other). Six patients underwent endovascular hepatic embolization (2 with multiple HAAs). Three HAA-IEs <15 mm resolved under antibiotherapy on abdominal CTA follow-up. All patients underwent cardiac surgery. Late outcome was favorable in all followed patients (5/10). Literature review showed the preponderance of Streptococcus spp., of right lobe and intrahepatic HAA localization. Complications revealed HAAs in patients under antibiotic therapy and/or after cardiac surgery in 17 literature cases of delayed diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Abdominal CTA was pivotal in the initial IE workup. Small aneurysms (≤15 mm) resolved under antibiotherapy. The usual treatment modality was HAA embolization and endovascular embolization before valve surgery was safe.

Graft Hepatic Artery Rupture Due to Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Infection After Liver Transplant.

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality after solid-organ transplant and hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Here, we report a 57-year-old man with hepatitis B virus-related decompensated liver cirrhosis, huge splenic artery aneurysm, and hypersplenism who underwent liver transplant from a deceased brain-dead donor. Recipient sputum surveillance showed carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae when he entered the intensive care unit, and combined tigecycline, meropenem, and fosfomycin were administered. At 1 week posttransplant, the recipient's hepatic artery was eroded by disseminated carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae infection, and the patient developed acute kidney injury. Our experience suggests that colonization of carbapenem-producing organisms may be included during surveillance posttransplant and that the infected graft artery must be removed instead of noninfected vessels.

Endovascular Reconstruction of the Hepatic Arterial System for the Management of Mycotic Pseudoaneurysm in a Liver Transplant Patient.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm is a rare but very morbid complication after liver transplant. Treatment options include ligation or endovascular embolization, followed by revascularization. We describe a new endovascular approach by stent exclusion in a high-risk patient. RESULTS: A 62-year-old male who received a second liver transplant after failed allograft presented with hemobilia and was diagnosed with a hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm in the setting of infection. Given his hostile abdomen, an endovascular approach was sought. We excluded the mycotic pseudoaneurysm with multiple covered stent grafts extending from the common hepatic artery to the right and left hepatic arteries. He was discharged with long-term antibiotics. On his 6-month follow-up visit, his stent was patent and hepatic function was stable. CONCLUSIONS: Endovascular stent-graft placement for management of hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm after liver transplant should be considered as a lower morbidity alternative to surgical repair, even in the setting of infection.

Disseminated phaeohyphomycosis with hepatic artery and portal vein thrombosis caused by Pleurostomophora richardsiae in a liver transplant recipient: A case report.

Pleurostomophora richardsiae is a dematiaceous mold that causes subcutaneous cystic phaeohyphomycosis. Few cases of invasive P richardsiae infection have been reported. Hepatic artery thrombosis following organ transplantation caused by a fungal organism is also very rare. We present here a 57-year-old man with refractory ascites and liver failure following liver transplantation for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Abdominal computed tomography demonstrated total occlusion of hepatic artery and blood clot in the portal vein and inferior vena cava. P richardsiae was isolated from blood culture and the blood clot in his liver. The patient was treated successfully with a 4-week course of amphotericin B deoxycholate and liver retransplantation.

Mycotic aneurysm of the hepatic artery in pediatric liver transplantation: A case series and literature review.

Mycotic aneurysm of the hepatic artery (HA) is a rare, unpredictable, and potentially lethal complication of liver transplantation (LT). Pediatric LT is not exempt from it but the related literature is rather scanty. We present our experience with post-LT mycotic aneurysm of the HA in pediatric age, describing four cases occurred with a special focus on the possible risk factors for its development and a proposal for the management of high-risk recipients.

Preservation of the arterial vascularisation after hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm following orthotopic liver transplantation: long-term results.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm (HAP) is a serious complication of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). The aim of this study was to determine risk factors for HAP and the best management of this complication. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between 1990 and 2005, 787 OLT were performed at our center. Patients who developed HAP were identified from our prospective database and risk factors of HAP were identified. Management of HAP was analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: There were 16 OLT (2.5%) complicated by HAP [median delay =13 days; range: 4-100 days]. Presentation was massive bleeding with shock (n=13), pain (n=2), or transient gastrointestinal bleeding (n=1). Bacteriological culture of HAP wall or ascites fluid was positive in 13 (81%) patients. Bilio-enteric anastomosis and biliary leak were identified as risk factors for HAP (p=0.011 and 0.002, respectively), whereas indication for OLT, surgical technique (full-graft OLT versus other techniques), and re-LT were not. Mortality rate after HAP rupture was 53% (7/13), but no deaths occurred in the 3 patients treated before rupture. Treatment included: excision and immediate revascularization [n=7; early mortality =2 (28%), long-term graft survival =4 (57%)], hepatic artery ligation [n=5; early mortality =3 (80%);, long-term graft survival with good liver function =0], and endovascular treatment [n=2; early mortality =0, long-term survival with good liver function =2]. CONCLUSIONS: HAP post-OLT carries a high mortality rate when detected after rupture, but recognition before rupture usually allows a successful outcome. Reconstruction with bilio-enteric anastomosis and postoperative biliary leak increase the risk for HAP. In these settings, CT with contrast injection should be performed to screen for HAP when there is any suspicion. Graft revascularization should be attempted whenever possible.

Hepatic and renal artery rupture due to Aspergillus and Mucor mixed infection after combined liver and kidney transplantation: a case report.

Fungal infection is a major cause of death in patients who undergo organ transplantation. The incidence of Aspergillus or Mucor infection is low compared with Candida species. We report a case in which Aspergillus and Mucor infected both the hepatic and renal arteries, leading the 2 arteries to rupture at the same time. The patient died 4 days after the second operation. We review the recent literature about this topic and explore the possible route of transmission in our patient. We also discuss the prophylactic methods for Aspergillus and Mucor infections.

Sudden death after pancreatic head resection: rupture of hepatic artery caused by clostridial infection.

BACKGROUND: Rupture of the hepatic artery caused by clostridial infection has not been reported before. METHODS: Case report and literature review. RESULTS: A 75 year-old man was admitted to the hospital for resection of a cystic tumor of the head of the pancreas. A pylorus-preserving radical pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed. On the fifth postoperative day, he developed fever (38.2 degrees C), and computed tomography scanning revealed free air in the subhepatic area near the pancreaticojejunal anastomosis. On the ninth postoperative day, the patient died suddenly. Autopsy revealed a ruptured hepatic artery secondary to clostridial infection. CONCLUSIONS: Close monitoring and early recourse to invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures may be advisable in the presence of suspect findings after pancreatic surgery to prevent this fatal complication.

Infected bilomas in liver transplant recipients: clinical features, optimal management, and risk factors for mortality.

BACKGROUND: Infected hepatic fluid collections (bilomas) are a major infectious complication of liver transplantation. Limited data exist on management and outcome of biloma. METHODS: We report a cohort study of 57 liver transplant recipients with posttransplantation bilomas undertaken to identify the clinical features of biloma, management strategies, and outcome. RESULTS: Fever (44%) and abdominal pain (40%) were the most common presenting symptoms, but one-third of patients were asymptomatic; 79% had elevated hepatic enzyme levels. Patients without hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) had the highest rates of resolution with percutaneous drainage and anti-infective therapy (64%). Retransplantation was necessary in 64% of patients with HAT and biloma. Independent predictors of resolution with nonsurgical therapy were absence of HAT (odds ratio [OR] 7.69; P=.01) and absence of Candida (OR, 9.09; P=.02) or enterococcal infection (OR, 7.69; P=.03). Patients with bilomas had significantly greater mortality (Cox proportional hazard ratio [HR], 2.38; P=.008, by log rank test) and graft loss (HR, 4.31; P<.0001). Predictors of mortality by multivariable analysis included renal insufficiency (OR, 12.51; P=.02) or infection with Candida species (OR, 4.93; P=.03) or gram-negative bacilli (OR, 9.12; P=.01). CONCLUSION: Posttransplantation biloma should be suspected in patients with fever or abdominal pain or abnormalities of hepatic enzymes, and it can be confirmed by computerized tomography and radiographically guided aspiration. Bilomas are most likely to be successfully treated nonsurgically in patients without HAT and without Candida or enterococcus infection.

Detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae in liver transplant patients with chronic allograft rejection.

BACKGROUND: Chlamydia pneumoniae is one of the possible pathogenetic factors of atherosclerotic processes. Foam cell arteriopathy is a generally accepted pathologic feature of chronic liver allograft rejection and has several similarities to the early lesions of atherosclerosis. The aim of the authors' study was to show any existing correlation between the occurrence of Chlamydia pneumoniae and the presence of foam cell arteriopathy in transplanted livers with chronic rejection. METHODS: Ten liver samples from patients with chronic liver rejection including foam cell arteriopathy and 10 liver samples from healthy individuals were analyzed for the presence of Chlamydia pneumoniae by specific immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Liver samples from two transplant patients with chronic liver rejection without any evidence of foam cell arteriopathy and nine patients with acute liver allograft rejection were also investigated by PCR. RESULTS: In all 10 rejected liver samples, Chlamydia pneumoniae was detected by PCR, whereas only one of the healthy control samples and one of the samples with acute rejection were found to be positive. Immunohistochemistry showed similar results. The positive signals of Chlamydia pneumoniae were localized mainly in the hepatocytes, sinusoidal and perisinusoidal cells, and the cells of portal tracts, whereas most of the altered hepatic arteries showed no or very weak positivity. CONCLUSIONS: The results strongly suggest an association between the occurrence of Chlamydia pneumoniae and the presence of foam cell arteriopathy in transplanted livers.

Hepatic arterial thrombosis due to Mucor species in a child following orthotopic liver transplantation.

Infection is a frequent complication in patients following liver transplantation, and mycotic etiology is the third most common cause. Thrombosis of the hepatic artery is a high-risk condition for the graft and is generally secondary to noninfectious diseases. We present a 2-year-old child who developed hepatic artery obstruction due to Mucor sp. The child did not respond to medical treatment. We conclude that a high index of suspicion and rapid diagnosis are required so that aggressive and early treatment can be initiated. To our knowledge this is the first case published with this particular association.

Successful treatment of mycotic hepatic artery pseudoaneurysms with arterial reconstruction and liposomal amphotericin B.

A 55-year-old woman developed end-stage liver disease and the hepatorenal syndrome secondary to cryptogenic cirrhosis. Orthotopic liver transplantation was complicated by bile peritonitis, requiring reoperation and eventual placement of an internal biliary stent. On postoperative day 26, hemobilia was caused by localized rupture of mycotic (Aspergillus fumigatus) hepatic artery pseudoaneurysms with fistulization into the biliary tree. After arterial reconstruction with a reversed autologous saphenous vein graft, the patient was treated successfully with liposomal amphotericin B.