To describe the clinical presentation, diagnostic process, and surgical outcomes of late thoracic aortic stent graft infection (ASGI) with aerodigestive fistula, highlighting its significance in current clinical practice.
Key Findings:
All three patients underwent surgical intervention with varying procedures.
The 30-day postoperative mortality rate was 33.3%, and the 1-year mortality rate was 100%, indicating a dire prognosis.
Late ASGI complicated by aerodigestive fistula carries an extremely poor prognosis.
Interpretation:
Early recognition and timely consideration of definitive source control, such as surgical intervention or targeted therapy, may be important, but optimal management remains challenging due to the complexity of cases.
Limitations:
Small sample size of only three cases.
Retrospective nature of the study limits generalizability and may introduce selection bias.
Conclusion:
Late ASGI complicated by aerodigestive fistula presents significant clinical challenges and poor outcomes, warranting further research into effective management strategies.
A large audit of biomedical publications suggests fabricated references are increasingly appearing in peer-reviewed papers — often in ways that are difficult for reviewers and readers to detect.
