Hybrid operation for infectious thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms complicated with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy for bladder cancer: A case report

BCGitis with aortoiliac aneurysm involvement: Report of two cases and review of the literature

BCGitis is a rare complication after intravesical administration of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin for high-grade superficial bladder cancer and carcinoma in situ. May cause vascular involvement. We present 2 cases and a review of the literature of the case reports pubished on the 10 years prior to April of 2022, when this proyect was finished, which described a case of aortoiliac mycotic aneurysm after receiving this treatment. Of the 51 cases included (49 revised and 2 original), 100% were men, 82% were older than 65 years. The median latency period was 15 months (IQR 18). The most frequent location was the abdominal aorta, rupture occurred in 45,1% of patients. The most frequent symptom was abdominal or lumbar pain (61%), followed by general syndrome (49%). In 39,2% cases, it was associated with retroperitoneal abscesess. Attributable mortality was 13,6%. BCGitis should be included in the differential diagnosis in patients who have received BCG therapy and present vascular involvement, even years after being treated.

Failed endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair due to Mycobacterium bovis infection following intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy

A mycotic aneurysm after intravesical instillation of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) for early-stage bladder cancer is a rare, but life-threatening, complication. In the present report, we have described the case of a patient who had undergone endovascular aneurysm repair for a rapidly growing saccular abdominal aortic aneurysm after BCG therapy. Three months after endovascular aneurysm repair, the patient had developed an abscess that required open surgery. Cultures from a blood sample and the abscess revealed Mycobacterium bovis BCG. A mycotic aneurysm due to BCG therapy should be suspected in patients with a history of BCG treatment. Such patients should immediately start antitubercular therapy.

Case Report with Systematic Literature Review on Vascular Complications of BCG Intravesical Therapy for Bladder Cancer

(1) Background: Intravesical instillation of therapeutic Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is the standard of treatment for non-muscular invasive bladder cancer. Although the exact immunomodulatory effects of BCG therapy in non-muscular invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) are still unclear, it has been considered a safe and effective treatment with the largest to-date report of complications citing minimal side effects, none of which included arterial involvement; (2) Methods: A systematic literature review was performed using PubMed, Cochrane, Medline, and Google Scholar from database inception to March 2021. Only eligible studies reporting aneurysm formation in adult patients with a history of BCG immunotherapy and no previous vascular pathology were included; (3) Results: A systematic literature review was conducted, highlighting 17 reports suggestive of BCG-induced mycotic aneurysm development. We added a case of a 78-year-old male, 30 months after last BCG-instillation, with a mycotic abdominal aneurysm yielding Mycobacterium tuberculosis with pyrazinamide resistance culture.; (4) Conclusions: Concluding results suggest a higher incidence of vascular complications from BCG intravesical therapy in the treatment of non-muscular invasive bladder cancer than previously reported. Recommendations are made to emphasize further research of this immunotherapy complication to facilitate the creation of guidelines for diagnosis and management of these patients.

[Aortic Complications Related to Mycobacterium bovis after Intravesical Bacille Calmette-Guérin Therapy - a Systematic Review]

BACKGROUND

Aortic complications after intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) application are a rare complication of the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. The aim of this systematic review was to perform a descriptive analysis of previously published studies and to discuss the particular challenges of diagnosis and treatment of this rare complication.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A literature search was performed in PubMed (1949-2021) and Web of Science (1900-2021) using the search terms "mycobacterium" OR "bovis" OR "BCG" AND "aorta" OR "aneurysm". In a staged review process, publications with the following inclusion criteria were included in data analysis: original paper, full-text availability in English or German and aortic complication after intravesical BCG instillation. We focused on the analysis of BCG-specific medical history data as well as treatment strategies in relation to patient outcome and the occurrence of graft infections during follow-up.

RESULTS

A total of 60 individual cases were described in 55 published articles. BCG-induced mycotic aortic aneurysms can occur in all segments of the thoracoabdominal aorta, but the infrarenal aortic segment was most commonly affected (65% of cases). The most common configuration was saccular outpouchings (65%). Concomitant infections in other tissues were typical (65%). Patients with mycotic aneurysm presented with or without consecutive aortic rupture in 28% and 63%, respectively. Diagnosis was based on a combination of pathological and microbiological examinations. A common treatment algorithm was surgical infection treatment (85%) and antitubercular therapy (83%). Performed simultaneously, they resulted in a long-term survival of 81%. Graft infection after initial aortic repair with alloplastic material (n = 40) developed in ten patients (25%) during follow-up.

DISCUSSION

Diagnosis of mycotic aneurysms or vascular complications after intravesical BCG application is exceptionally challenging and a high level of suspicion is required. Diagnosis is based on obtaining sample material of affected regions and the combination of patient's history, clinical presentation and pathological or microbiological examinations. Currently, no consensus guideline for optimal medical treatment options of aortic complications secondary to BCG instillation exists. The combination of surgical treatment and supportive antitubercular therapy seems to achieve the best results. Since the risk of prosthetic infection after the use of alloplastic materials remains high (25%), we strongly suggest evaluating autologous or allogenic aortic replacement during initial aortic repair.