Fatal bleeding in a 1.5-year-old child with aortoesophageal fistula: case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Aortoesophageal fistula in children is a very uncommon disease, which in most cases leads to death during the first days from the moment it occurs. Its high mortality is due to the lack of knowledge among doctors about the similarity of the disease in children and the lack of experience treating it. This paper presents the case history of a 1.5-year-old child who was admitted with bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract and died 36 hours after admission due to continued massive bleeding at the diagnostic measure stages. An autopsy revealed an aortic aneurysm with a diameter of 1.5 cm, which penetrated the esophageal lumen and formed an aortoesophageal fistula. This article analyzes the treatment results of 17 cases of successfully treating children with aortoesophageal fistula, which we found in the literature. It describes the leading causes and mechanisms of the development of this pathology in children. Also, the article describes the diagnostic and treatment methods for children with aortoesophageal fistula.

Keywords

aortoesophageal fistula / massive bleeding / autopsy / children

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Bataev S.M., Magomedov Z.Z., Kibalnic D.V., Lello A.I., Akatiev A.S.