Mycotic Aneurysm of the Thoracic Aorta Caused by Clostridium septicum

We describe a case of a 78-year-old man who presented with a mycotic aneurysm of the thoracic aorta caused by Clostridium septicum and underwent successful resection. There are only 3 cases of mycotic aneurysms caused by Clostridium septicum reported in the literature. Clostridium septicum infections have been shown to have a high association with gastrointestinal and hematologic malignancies. All patients with Clostridium septicum infections, therefore, require a search for gastrointestinal lesions, as they may represent a source of persistent bacteremia. This patient had no malignant lesions but did have multiple benign sigmoid polyps.