Acute aortic dissection mimicking an acute coronary syndrome through occlusion of the right coronary artery

Occlusion of the right coronary artery (RCA) is an uncommon complication of type A aortic dissection. Aortic dissection and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) share a similar pathogenesis in atherosclerosis and hypertension. Consequently a patient with ischaemic risk factors presenting with chest pain and dynamic ECG change may well be incorrectly treated for ACS if careful attention is not paid to the presenting symptoms and signs. This case report describes a 59-year-old man who presented with chest pain, confusion and an ischaemic ECG and was initially treated for ACS. He subsequently deteriorated clinically and imaging confirmed type A aortic dissection complicated by RCA occlusion. Following emergent surgery with aortic root replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting he later made a good recovery.     

Transesophageal echocardiography detection of an esophageal sarcoma mimicking aortic dissection.

This report shows that transesophageal echocardiography can detect thoracic pathology, in this case esophageal sarcoma, as well as cardiac and aortic abnormalities. Transesophageal echocardiography can help differentiate cardiac from aortic or other intrathoracic pathology when the patient's history and physical examination do not provide enough information.     

Undiagnosed Stanford type A aortic dissection: a rare survival report

Acute aortic dissection is a life-threatening conditions with a high mortality rate within the first 24 h since presentation, if left untreated. Nevertheless the setting may be chronic and stable. We present a rare case of a misdiagnosed and unoperated Stanford type A aortic dissection in a 78-year old woman with stable computed tomography features at the second year of clinical follow-up.     

初诊为急性冠脉综合征的主动脉夹层患者的经验教训一例

急性主动脉夹层起病凶险,临床表现多样,初诊极易误诊。而按照其他疾病治疗容易加重急性主动脉夹层,导致患者病情恶化。本研究报道1例初诊为急性冠脉综合征的急性主动脉夹层患者诊治过程中的经验教训,为类似病例的多方位检查及诊断提供参考。     

血清D-二聚体浓度对急性主动脉夹层的意义

血清D-二聚体是交联纤维蛋白的降解产物,可用来协助诊断深静脉血栓和肺栓塞.急性主动脉夹层(acute aortic dissection,AAD)患者其D-二聚体浓度升高,提示D-二聚体可能为该病的一种生物学标志.研究证明,D-二聚体浓度对AAD患者的诊断、判断病变范围及预后均有一定的价值.     

Aortic valve commissural tear mimicking type A aortic dissection.

A 52-year-old man came to the local emergency department with symptoms of heart failure and transient chest pain. Transthoracic echocardiography showed severe aortic regurgitation and a dilated ascending aorta. Aortic dissection was suspected, and he was transferred to our institution. Transesophageal echocardiography appeared to confirm the presence of a type A dissection. A mobile, linear structure was present in the proximal ascending aorta, suggesting the presence of dissection flap. Aortic cusp prolapse and severe aortic regurgitation were seen. At surgery, no aortic dissection was present. Rather, the commissure between right and left aortic valve cusps was separated from the wall of the aorta. Motion of the torn commissure with the cardiac cycle apparently led to the transesophageal echocardiographic appearance described. The ascending aorta was dilated. Histopathologic examination of the aorta confirmed the visual appearance of cystic medial necrosis. Aortic valve commissural tear is a rare event, which may lead to severe aortic regurgitation. This entity may lead to the false-positive transesophageal echocardiographic diagnosis of type A dissection.     

Frank's sign with acute aortic dissection

A 59‐year‐old man with a long smoking history presented with sudden back pain. Frank''s sign was noticed in his bilateral ears, and computed tomography revealed Stanford type A acute aortic dissection. If young patients have Frank''s sign, attention should be paid to aortic disease in addition to coronary artery disease.     

Ischemia-modified albumin in acute aortic dissection

Background: Acute aortic dissection (AOD) is associated with high mortality and early diagnosis and treatment are essential. Ischemia‐modified albumin (IMA) is a marker of myocardial ischemia whereas cardiac enzymes are released when myocardial necrosis occurs. We investigated, for the first time, whether IMA increases in AOD either at presentation or after surgery. Methods: We studied 46 consecutive patients with documented AOD; we also evaluated 13 consecutive patients with dilated ascending aortas scheduled for elective surgery and admitted for preoperative coronary angiography; 46 age‐matched normal subjects served as controls. Only patients with acute onset of symptoms were included. We evaluated IMA, cardiac enzymes, N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriureticpeptide, albumin, C‐reactive protein (CRP), and D‐dimers on admission, 24 hr post‐operatively and 4 days post‐operatively. Duration from symptom onset to the first sample was 23±17 hr. Results: IMA did not differ between patients with AOD at presentation (93±19 U/ml), patients with chronic aneurysms (90±14 U/ml) and normal controls (91±9 U/ml). In addition, IMA did not change significantly after surgical repair. IMA, at baseline, however, correlated positively with time from symptom onset as well as CRP levels (P=0.05 and P=0.007, respectively). Conclusion: IMA is not elevated in AOD when blood sampling is performed within 23±17 hr after symptom onset nor increases after surgery. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 24:399–402, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

不典型急性主动脉夹层的临床识别

急性主动脉夹层有相对低的发病率但却有时间依赖性的高病死率,因此早期诊断和治疗对提高存活率极为重要.掌握其常见临床表现和不典型表现,特别是注意发作的突然性、症状的波动性和疼痛的扩展性是临床诊断的关键.目前确诊的理想手段是CT和TEE(经食管超声检查).     

Bicuspid aortic valve stenosis complicated by descending aortic dissection mimicking coarctation of the aorta.

We report a rare case of bicuspid aortic stenosis complicated by an ascending aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection of DeBakey type IIIb. A 35-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital to examine her systolic murmur identified at birth. Severe aortic stenosis, dilatation of the ascending aorta, and the narrow color flow signal in the descending aorta were detected by transthoracic echocardiography. Initially, coarctation of the descending aorta was suspected, but aortic dissection, DeBakey type IIIb, was revealed by transesophageal echocardiography. Transesophageal echocardiography is indicated when only insufficient information is available on valve and aortic morphology in patients with bicuspid aortic valve.     

主动脉夹层风险评分联合D-二聚体在主动脉夹层诊断中的应用价值

目的探讨主动脉夹层风险评分联合D-二聚体对于诊断主动脉夹层(AAD)的应用价值。方法收集近5年我科收治的怀疑急性主动脉夹层而行主动脉CT造影的病例共387例,根据最终诊断分为急性主动脉综合征(AAS)组和非AAS组。分析其临床资料,计算主动脉夹层风险评分(ADD-RS),并分析D-二聚体水平(243ng/mL为阳性)。结果AAS共161例,包括主动脉夹层AAD 151例(93.79%),壁间血肿5例(3.11%),主动脉溃疡3例(1.86%),腹主动脉瘤破裂2例(1.24%)。AAD中Stanford A型占71例(47.02%),Stanford B型占80例(52.98%)。D-二聚体阳性诊断AAS的敏感性为90.7%,特异性为26.1%;而D-二聚体>5000ng/mL诊断AAS的敏感性为22.4%,特异性为95.1%。15例AAS患者D-二聚体<243ng/mL。在AAS组内,ADD-RS=0、ADD-RS=1及ADD-RS>1分别占4.97%(8/161)、78.88%(127/161)及16.15%(26/161)。ADD-RS1诊断ASS的敏感性为95.0%,特异性为35.0%。ADD-RS=0并D-二聚体阴性者为22例,均为非AAS组,表明ADD-RS=0联合D-二聚体阴性排除AAS的敏感性为100%。ADD-RS>1联合D二聚体>5000ng/mL诊断AAS的敏感性为100%。结论ADD-RS联合D-二聚体可以极大提高临床排除或诊断AAD的准确性。     

Platelet to lymphocyte ratio in acute aortic dissection

Background

Inflammation plays an important role in the initiation and progression of acute aortic dissection (AAD). New inflammatory indices derived from full cell blood count and its differential may be associated with increased risk. We evaluated platelet‐lymphocyte (PLR), red cell distribution width (RDW) and RDW/PLT's (platelets) (RPR) in AAD.

Methods

We studied 120 consecutive patients with AAD type I admitted for emergency surgery (group I), 121 consecutive patients with aortic aneurysms of the ascending aorta prior to elective repair (group II) and 121 controls (group III), age and sex matched.

Results

PLR was significantly higher in group I vs both groups II and III (P < .001). There was an excellent correlation of PLR with neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in all three groups (P < .001 for all). After adjustment for hemoglobin, RDW did not differ but RPR remained significantly higher in group I compared to groups II and III (P < .001). The best cutoff value of PLR to predict dissection was 159 with 53% sensitivity and 86% specificity. No association between PLR, RDW, and RPR and mortality in group I was found.

Conclusions

Indices derived from full cell blood count may provide diagnostic information in patients with AAD; whether these indices may contribute to prognosis assessment should be further investigated.