[A travel-loving woman in her eighties with lower back pain and weight loss].

BACKGROUND

This case report presents one of the first documented incidents of chronic Q-fever (C. burnetii) in Norway. A comprehensive workup resulted in an unexpected finding.

CASE PRESENTATION: A Norwegian woman in her eighties presented to a district general hospital with lower back pain, decreased general condition and weight loss. Computer tomography (CT) revealed a large thoracic aortic aneurysm presumed to be of mycotic origin, and later magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans revealed osteomyelitis in the surrounding vertebrae. Conventional diagnostic workup did not identify the causative agent. After more than 6 months of different examinations, surgery, exhausting invasive procedures and antimicrobial treatment, we were ultimately successful in determining the microbial cause of chronic mycotic aneurism and osteomyelitis to be C. Burnetii (Q-fever) through serological and PCR analysis.

INTERPRETATION: An increasing proportion of the population in all age groups travel abroad, and clinicians should be aware of the increasing incidence of imported infectious diseases. Obtaining a thorough medical history is still an important tool in the diagnostic process.