Blood pressure shifts resulting from a concealed arteriovenous fistula associated with an iliac aneurysm: a case report

Discussion

We presented a case of acute aneurysmal rapture into the iliac vein. Sometimes, a definite diagnosis of an AVF associated with a SIA is difficult preoperatively because there might not be enough symptoms and time for diagnosis [3]. An AVF associated with an AAA has the following triad of symptoms: congestive heart failure, continuous abdominal bruit, and a pulsating abdominal mass [1]; however, these symptoms are noted in only 20–50 % of reported cases [4]. An AVF associated with a SIA might show lower limb edema as an additional feature; however, many cases do not have hemodynamic symptoms [4–6]. Definite diagnosis of an AVF offers advantages for surgical and anesthetic management.

Arterial pressure shifts rarely occur in a clinical situation. In the present case, these shifts indicated that an AVF was present and that the shunt was about to having a high flow. These hemodynamic changes could be explained by pooling of the transient increased shunt flow to a high-capacitance venous circuit and a decreased in preload, which can produce low arterial pressure at the next heartbeat. Simultaneously, an increase in venous return raised the blood pressure following a downward shift in the blood pressure. We hypothesized that the mechanical compression of a huge aneurysm should occlude the AVF and the fistula would appear by changing of lower limb posture, high blood pressure, or pulse of the aneurysm itself. The shift disappeared during the operative preparation, indicating that shunt dilation due to anesthetic agents and muscle relaxants decreased peripheral resistance, including aneurysmal compression at the vein.

CT has been recommended to determine the subtypes, sizes, and complications of aneurysms [1, 3–6]. CT can contribute to the detection of an asymptomatic AVF associated with a SIA [4–6]. Although our case had hemodynamic catastrophe, the CT findings in our case were much fewer than the findings presented in previous reports. We were unsure of the presence of an AVF preoperatively because the dilated vena cava, which was not enhanced in the arterial phase, appeared to be apart from the aneurysm and the iliac veins were indistinguishable from the hematomas on CT. An asymptomatic aortocaval fistula due to abdominal aneurysmal compression [4] and an ilio-iliac AVF associated with a huge common iliac aneurysm [6] have been reported. Therefore, a huge iliac aneurysm could push the iliac vein aside and occlude the shunt easily. Postoperatively, we detected the enhanced left paravertebral vein (Fig. 1) and the left ascending lumbar vein (Fig. 5) on arterial-phase CT, and these were the only indications of the presence of an AVF on CT. The enhancement was noted at only the left paravertebral vein, although the laceration of the AVF was located at the right common iliac vein. The huge aneurysm obstructed the left common iliac vein and resulted in arterial inflow to the contralateral side. This supported the hypothesis that the aneurysm decreased shunt flow by compressing the adjacent vein.