Acute Aortic Dissection With Tear in Ascending Aorta Not Diagnosed Until Necropsy or Operation (for Another Condition) and Comparison to Similar Cases Receiving Proper Operative Therapy
The American Journal of Cardiology, 08/17/2012
Roberts WC et al. – ≥7 of 30 patients with acute aortic dissection (AD) with a tear in ascending aorta (AA) were not diagnosed until necropsy or operation or retrospectively by computed tomography during a 3–year period at a large tertiary medical center showing that this condition continues to be underdiagnosed, and when not diagnosed correctly is usually rapidly fatal. Because the autopsy rate today is so low, the percentage not diagnosed clinically is probably >23%.
