Calcified abdominal aortic aneurysm in a 12-year-old boy.

The authors report a case of an idiopathic, isolated infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm with dense intramural calcification and sterile mesenteric lymphadenopathy in a 12-year-old boy. Aneurysmal disease in the pediatric population is very uncommon. The majority of previously reported cases have clear associated causes, such as connective tissue disorders, infectious processes, inflammatory states, or trauma. A minority of cases have no distinguishable cause and are classified as idiopathic. Isolated abdominal aortic aneurysms are very uncommon in children, and those with densely calcified walls are rare, with only 2 case reports in the literature. The authors found no previous reports of abdominal aortic aneurysm with associated sterile mesenteric lymphadenopathy. The etiology of this patient's aneurysm remains unknown. Copyright 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.