Syphilitic aneurysm of the abdominal aorta

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a common finding in aged patients [1, 2], with a mortality estimated at 15,000 cases per year in the USA [3]. The most common etiology being atherosclerosis (up to 95% of cases) [4, 5], an infectious origin has also been described [6, 7] and is considered unusual. Syphilis may be responsible for thoracic aortic aneurysms (50% located in the ascending aorta, 30-40% in the aortic arch, 10-15% in the [...]