Abstract
Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii. Polymorphic, the disease may present as an acute or chronic infection. Vascular infections are the second most common form of chronic Q fever, following endocarditis. Herein, we studied the outcome of 30 new cases of aortic infection caused by C. burnetii using uni- and multivariate analyses. The outcome of ten cases previously reported by our team was also updated. Of these 40 patients, 32 had a follow-up of ≥3 years. Among them, the overall mortality was of 25% (8/32). Vascular rupture was significantly and independently (multivariate P=0.03) associated with a lethal issue, whereas vascular surgery was significantly associated with recovery (uni- and multivariate P<0.01). Our findings demonstrate the critical importance of surgery in the management of C. burnetii vascular infections.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Drs. Alamartine, Becq-Giraudon, Besnier, Beytout, Bosseret, Bouchou, Cottin, Faux, Glichmanas, Hamidou, Heibel, Labrun, Martin, May, Millet, Perez, Raz, Tellez, and Vigier for providing clinical information, and Dr. Cutler for English revision.
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Botelho-Nevers, E., Fournier, PE., Richet, H. et al. Coxiella burnetii infection of aortic aneurysms or vascular grafts: report of 30 new cases and evaluation of outcome. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 26, 635–640 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-007-0357-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-007-0357-6