Duodenal Obstruction and Grade III Acute Cholangitis Following Pancreaticoduodenal Artery Aneurysm Rupture During Conservative Management of Acute Type B Aortic Dissection: A Case Report.

Aneurysms of the pancreaticoduodenal arcade are uncommon visceral artery aneurysms that are strongly associated with stenosis or occlusion of the celiac axis and that may rupture irrespective of size. Rupture produces a peripancreatic or retroperitoneal hematoma, and duodenal stenosis is a recognized sequela; biliary complications have rarely been reported. An 84-year-old man admitted with an acute Stanford type B aortic dissection with a thrombosed false lumen was managed conservatively with strict blood pressure control. Surveillance non-contrast computed tomography (CT) on day 7 incidentally showed a periduodenal hematoma, absent on day 5, in a patient who had no abdominal pain. Contrast-enhanced CT on day 8 demonstrated a 5-mm aneurysm of the anterior inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery (AIPDA) adjacent to the hematoma, together with severe celiac origin stenosis. The same narrowing was present on the day 0 study, as demonstrated on retrospective review. Coil embolization on day 12 occluded the aneurysm, and the arcade remained patent, maintaining collateral blood flow to the liver; the celiac origin stenosis was not treated. Postprandial vomiting began on day 16, and imaging on day 19 confirmed high-grade stenosis at the distal descending duodenum. He was managed with nasogastric decompression and parenteral nutrition, and endoscopy showed a short, tight stenosis of extrinsic appearance with normal mucosa. On day 37, he developed septic shock with direct-predominant hyperbilirubinemia, and CT showed a dilated biliary tree with severe narrowing of the common bile duct at the level of the coils. According to the Tokyo Guidelines 2018, grade III acute cholangitis was diagnosed, and an endoscopic nasobiliary drainage catheter was placed without sphincterotomy; blood and bile grew extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli. The duodenal stenosis improved sufficiently for an oral elemental diet on day 45 and a full oral diet on day 47, and he was discharged home walking unaided on day 60. Rupture of an AIPDA aneurysm may be painless, although this is not the usual presentation, and may be detected only on surveillance imaging; severe cholangitis may follow in a patient with a persistent periduodenal hematoma and duodenal obstruction. Both complications were managed nonoperatively.