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A 75-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with sudden onset of chest and back pain. She showed ventricular fibrillation during transportation and shock vitals on arrival at the hospital. An electrocardiogram (ECG) showed ST segment elevation in aVR, and emergency coronary angiography (CAG) was performed. CAG revealed malperfusion of the left main coronary artery (LMT) due to type A aortic dissection. Emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was performed and coronary revascularization was achieved. Strict blood pressure management was performed in the intensive care unit. She underwent ascending aortic replacement two days after onset of the disease. Although she required long-term postoperative ventilator management, she did not develop low output syndrome (LOS). In this case, emergency PCI minimized myocardial ischemia, and LOS could have been avoided by waiting for circulation to recover and then performing surgery.
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The patient, a female in her 60s, was under anticoagulant therapy with direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) for persistent atrial fibrillation. She suddenly presented with chest pain, prompting her emergency admission to our medical facility. Subsequently, she received a diagnosis of acute aortic dissection (Stanford A) and was referred to our department for urgent surgical intervention. The administration of Andexanet Alfa was initiated in the emergency department due to the markedly elevated risk of life-threatening hemorrhage associated with DOAC medications. Surgery was approached through a median sternotomy, and 20,000 units of unfractionated heparin were administered intravenously during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) preparation. However, the activated clotting time (ACT) exhibited suboptimal extension at 181 s (pre-heparin ACT: 124 s), necessitating supplementary heparin infusion. This resulted in the cumulative administration of 80,000 U of heparin before achieving an ACT exceeding 400 s. Suspecting heparin resistance, we maintained an ACT greater than 400 s during CPB through the continuous administration of nafamostat within the CPB circuit. Subsequently, we performed graft replacement of the ascending aorta, weaning from the CPB was smooth, hemostasis was good, and the operation was completed. The patient's postoperative recovery remained uneventful, leading to her discharge on the 11th day following the surgery. Notably, there were no instances of major bleeding or thromboembolic events during her hospitalization. Preoperative oral DOAC therapy presents a critical and potentially life-threatening concern due to its association with heightened intraoperative and postoperative bleeding risks. Currently, a Factor Xa inhibitor reversal agent, Andexanet Alfa (Ondexa®)，is available and expected to contribute to the treatment of critical bleeding in patients taking DOAC. However, further research is warranted to accumulate knowledge regarding its efficacy and optimal utilization. In this case, we present an instance of acute aortic dissection with heparin resistance following the preoperative administration of a DOAC antagonist, contributing to the existing literature on this matter.
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A 67-year-old man suffered sudden chest pain. Computed tomography with contrast medium revealed dissection from the ascending aorta to the bilateral iliac arteries and hematoma around the left external iliac artery. Type A acute aortic dissection complicated with rupture of the left external iliac artery was diagnosed. Urgent endovascular repair (stent-graft implantation) was first performed for the arterial rupture more critical than the aortic dissection. On the next day after satisfactory hemostasis and hemodynamical stabilization, semi-urgent ascending aortic replacement was achieved, and the patient survived. Acute aortic dissection complicated with rupture of the aortic branch was extremely rare, and only 5 cases have been reported in the English literature.
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We report a 49-year-old man with retrograde type A acute aortic dissection with patent false lumen in the ascending aorta. The patient successfully underwent urgent thoracic endovascular repair (TEVAR) to cover the primary entry on the onset (admission) day. The false lumen from the ascending aorta to the proximal descending thoracic aorta was completely thrombosed, gradually shrank, and finally disappeared. In conclusion, TEVAR for retrograde type A acute aortic dissection with a patent ascending false lumen is far less invasive than aortic replacement (with cardiopulmonary bypass, cardiac arrest, and circulatory arrest) and may be useful in selected patients with a primary entry located at least approximately 2 cm distal to the origin of the left subclavian artery.
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Objective: Hospitals throughout Japan are being integrated and reorganized under the government's regional medical care plan. However, the effects on cardiovascular surgery practice remain unknown. In the year 2016, our institution employed hospital integration; we report its effects on patients with type A acute aortic dissection who underwent emergency surgery. Methods: This study included 89 patients who underwent emergency surgery for type A acute aortic dissection from May 2012 to December 2020. Evaluation items included preoperative patient factors, number of surgeries, surgical mortality, referral rate, patient transport time, transport distance, number of surgeries performed by young cardiovascular surgeons, and overtime work for surgery. Patients were categorized into pre-(group P: 29 patients) and post-integration (group A: 60 patients) groups, which were retrospectively compared. Results: Preoperative factors were not significantly different between the two groups. Operations accounted for 29 and 60 in groups P and A, respectively; they increased significantly after integration (p=0.005). Surgical mortality was 27.6 and 15% in groups P and A, respectively, with no significant difference (p=0.2). The referral rate was 17 (58.6%) and 21 (35%) patients in groups P and A, respectively; group A displayed a significantly lower referral rate (p=0.04). The interval from the onset of symptoms to arrival at the surgery cite was significantly reduced (p=0.01) in group A (112±140 min) compared to group P (206±201 min). There was no significant difference in the transfer distance between groups P (13.9±14.8 km) and A (13.5±16.2 km). The number of surgeries performed by young surgeons increased in 9 cases (31%) in group P and 34 cases (56.7%) in group A (p=0.02). Overtime work was substantially reduced:446±154 min in group P and 349±112 min in group A. Conclusion: Hospital integration resulted in increased number of acute aortic dissection surgeries and decreased interval time from the onset of symptoms to arrival at the surgery cite. The young surgeons performed more surgeries and reduced their overtime work.
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A 70-year-old man with no outpatient history visited the local doctor with complaints of weakness of the limbs and abdominal pain on the following day after vomiting on the previous night. He was suspected to have a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm from a simple CT scan of the abdomen, and was transported to our hospital for emergency treatment. After a contrast-enhanced CT scan at our hospital, a thrombosed type B aortic dissection and ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm were diagnosed, and emergency surgery was performed on the same day. Although the dissection had extended to the abdominal aortic aneurysm, abdominal aortic endovascular repair (EVAR) was performed because it was a thrombosed type B aortic dissection. After admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), the patient showed intra-abdominal hypertension and oliguria. So, we performed an emergency decompressive laparotomy against abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS). He was discharged from the ICU on the 8th day and transferred to rehabilitation on the 38th day. We report a case of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm associated with thrombosed acute type B aortic dissection that was successfully treated.
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@#Objective To evaluate the changes in the expression and significance of serum exosomal miRNAs in patients with DeBakey typeⅠacute aortic dissection (AAD). Methods Twelve male patients with AAD and six healthy male medical examiners from our hospital were retrospectively included in this study. According to the time of chest pain, the AAD patients were divided into an AAD group within 24 h of chest pain onset, aged 47.00±8.79 years and an AAD group within 48 h of chest pain onset, aged 50.17±9.99 years. The healthy males were allocated to a control group, aged 49.17±4.26 years. Serum exosomal miRNAs were isolated, identified and quantified, and then differentially expressed exosomal miRNAs were screened. The bioinformatic analyses such as GO and KEGG were performed on the differentially expressed exosomal miRNAs. Results High-throughput screening results revealed differential expression of AAD serum exosomal miRNAs. The upregulated miRNAs of AAD groups was hsa-miR-574-5p (P<0.05), and downregulated miRNAs were hsa-miR-223-3p, hsa-miR-146b-5p, hsa-miR-15b-5p, and hsa-miR-155-5p (P<0.05). Further bioinformatic analysis of the above miRNAs revealed that they were mainly enriched in signaling pathways such as transforming growth factor-β, cell cycle and endoplasmic reticulum protein synthesis. Conclusion Differential expressions of serum exosomal miRNAs in AAD patients may be related to the pathogenesis of AAD, providing new ideas and clues for further exploration of AAD diagnostic markers and pathogenesis.
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Objective:To investigate the application value of aortic dissection detection risk score (ADD-RS) combined with D-dimer (DD) in the early diagnosis of acute aortic dissection (AAD).Methods:The clinical data of 70 patients with suspected aortic dissection detection admitted to The Second Hospital of Jiaxing from August 2019 to April 2020 were collected. All patients were scored using the ADD-RS, and grouped according to the scoring results. The sensitivity and specificity of ADD-RS plus DD in the early diagnosis of AAD were calculated. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves that were plotted for drADD-RS plus DD versus DD alone to screen AAD were compared to evaluate efficacy. Results:CT angiography results showed that among 70 patients with suspected AAD, 29 patients had AAD and 41 patients had no AAD. A total of 21 patients were scored 0, 41 patients were scored > 1, and 8 patients were scored > 0. ADD-RS > 0 had an overall sensitivity of 79.31% and a specificity of 36.59% for AAD diagnosis. DD test results had an overall sensitivity of 86.20% and a specificity of 36.50% for AAD diagnosis. The area under the ROC curve of ADD-RS = 0 plus DD-negative result and the area under the ROC curve of DD-negative result alone in ruling out AAD were 0.885 with 95% CI (0.786-0.949) and 0.787 with 95% CI (0.673-0.876), respectively. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( P = 0.024). Conclusion:Compared with DD-negative result alone, the ADD-RS = 0 plus DD-negative result strategy offers greater specificity to rule out AAD. The combined strategy has a greater efficacy in ruling out AAD. However, a multi-center study involving a large sample is required for in-depth evaluation.
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Objective:To investigate the influence of SARS-CoV-2 infection on patients after emergency cardiovascular surgery.Methods:The clinical data of 43 patients who underwent emergency cardiac surgery and returned to the center for cardiac intensive care for treatment after surgery from December 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023 at Beijing Anzhen Hospital were retrospectively collected, and patients were divided into SARS-CoV-2 group(22 cases) and non-SARS-CoV-2 group(21 cases) according to whether they were infected by SARS-CoV-2. Postoperative laboratory and test results, as well as complication rates and in-hospital mortality were recorded for all patients.Results:Compared with patients in the non-SARS-CoV-2 group, patients in the SARS-CoV-2 group had significantly lower postoperative lymphocyte counts( P<0.05), significantly higher ALT and AST( P<0.05), and significantly higher postoperative new-onset atrial fibrillation, abnormal liver function, and ICU time( P<0.05), and postoperative AST and postoperative LVEF were risk factors for patients with poor prognosis. Conclusion:Emergency cardiovascular surgery in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection has an increased incidence of postoperative complications, leading to increased ICU hours in patients.
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Objective:To investigate the risk factors of postoperative continuous renal replacement therapy application in Stanford type A acute aortic dissection.Methods:This retrospective study included 527 patients with Stanford type A acute aortic dissection from November 2015 to February 2018 in Beijing Anzhen Hospital. They were divided into 2 groups according to whether or not needed postoperative continuous renal replacement therapy, group CRRT(78 cases) and group None CRRT(449 cases). Binary logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors of continuous renal replacement therapy. Results:Of all the patients, the percentage of using continuous renal replacement therapy was 14.8%(78/527), and the mortality of 30 days after surgery was 8.5%(45/527). The independent risk factors associated with CRRT were preoperative serum creatinine(sCr)( OR=1.012, 95% CI: 1.005-1.019, P<0.001), transfusion of red blood cell in surgery( OR=1.141, 95% CI: 1.071-1.216, P<0.001), transfusion of platelet in surgery( OR=1.307, 95% CI: 1.084-1.576, P=0.005), the total amount of drainage( OR=1.000, 95% CI: 1.000-1.000, P=0.036), and the time of extubation after surgery( OR=1.004, 95% CI: 1.001-1.008, P=0.013). Conclusion:The risk factors of CRRT after emergency surgery of Stanford type A acute aortic dissection are preoperative serum creatinine, transfusion of red blood cell in surgery, transfusion of platelet in surgery, the total amount of drainage and the time of tracheal extubation after surgery. We need to focus on those risk factors in our daily job and manage them timely and properly, in order to improve patients’ prognosis.
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Background: The “work style reform of physicians” is due to come into effect in April 2024. Cardiovascular surgery involves many life-saving surgeries after hours, and it is expected to be difficult to achieve the upper limit (level A) of 960 h per year and less than 100 h per month for overtime work. In 2021, there were five full-time cardiovascular surgeons, four of whom were responsible for performing emergency surgery for acute aortic dissection in our facility. The ability to provide emergency surgical care with any two-person combination increases the flexibility of staffing for routine surgery or after-hours on-call. The working environment and surgical outcomes of acute aortic dissection under this system are reported, and changes in work style in cardiovascular surgery are discussed. Methods: The surgical outcomes of 39 cases of acute aortic dissection requiring emergency open heart surgery at this hospital during the one-year period from January to December 2021 were investigated. The number of cases (and first assistants) performed by five full-time surgeons were 7(13), 9(6), 12(3), 11(7) and 0(10), respectively. In addition, there were 8 cases of acute aortic dissection requiring urgent stent graft treatment during the same period. The emergency response rate for emergency patients (including those other than acute aortic dissection) was 100% during the same period. Results: The age was 69 years (median), 48.7% were female, 92.3% were Stanford type A, of which 22.2% were DeBakey type II. Shock vital 20.5%, malperfusion 30.8%. The surgical procedures included TAR in 19 cases, PAR in 8 cases, HAR in 12 cases (including 2 Bentall). Concomitant operations were AVR in 5 cases, CABG in 2 cases, TEVAR in 1 case, lower limb arterioplasty in 2 cases and right hemispherectomy in 1 case. Operating time 400 min (median), extracorporeal circulation time 194 min (median), cardiac arrest 108 min (median), selective cerebral perfusion time 125 min (median), lower body circulation arrest 46 min (median). Hospital mortality 7.7%, stroke 12.8%, delayed paraparesis 2.6%. Ventilation time was 1 day (median), hospital stay 23 days (median), 64.1% were discharged at home. Working Environments: 12-13 on-calls per month. Maximum yearly overtime work is 480.5 h with full overtime pay. Exemptions from working after night shift were also possible. Conclusions: The surgical outcomes of acute aortic dissection at our hospital were acceptable. Not having a fixed surgeon enabled a flexible emergency response, and increased the flexibility of staffing for routine surgery and on-call, and was considered to enable both a change in working style and surgical safety while meeting the needs of the community.
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A 79-year-old woman with left hemiplegia and loss of consciousness was transferred to a previous hospital. She underwent a CT-scan of the aorta and CT-perfusion of the brain and was diagnosed with Stanford type A acute aortic dissection complicated with cerebral malperfusion with narrowing of the right carotid artery region. She was transferred to our hospital and underwent emergency ascending aorta replacement. Preoperative CT perfusion findings predicted improvement of neurological symptoms after aortic repair, and she had no neurological complications postoperatively.
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Objective:To investigate the clinical value of modified acute aortic dissection risk score in the early diagnosis of acute aortic dissection (AAD).Methods:The general, clinical, and imaging data of 162 patients who complained of chest and back pain who received treatment between January 2019 and January 2021 in the Department of Emergency, The Second Hospital of Jiaxing, China were collected for this study. The included patients were divided into control (non-AAD, n = 120) and observation (AAD, n = 42) groups according to whether they were diagnosed with AAD. The indexes with statistical significance between the two groups were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis. A score table was established according to the size of OR value. The modified AAD risk score was predicted using the receiver operating curve. Results:Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that male sex, family history, sudden severe chest and back pain, bilateral blood pressure asymmetry, hypertension, abnormal ultrasound, and D-dimer level were independent risk factors for the diagnosis of AAD (statistical values = 7.84, 6.96, 7.04, 11.38, 7.12, 8.15, 15.07, 9.11, all P < 0.05). Taking the total score of 5 as the prediction standard, the specificity and sensitivity in the prediction of the occurrence of AAD were 84.94% and 95.43%, respectively. The area under the receiver operating curve regarding the modified AAD risk score was 0.909. Conclusion:The modified AAD risk score can be used to conveniently and quickly predict the occurrence of AAD and has a high predictive value. This study is highly innovative and scientific.
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Objective:To determine the epidemiological characteristics of acute aortic dissectionand the negative rate of D-dimer of type A and B acute aortic dissection, and to explore the factors related to the negative rate of D-dimer with onset time≤ 24 h.Methods:The study retrospectively analyzed the age, sex, clinical manifestations, medical history, and laboratory test data of patients with acute aortic dissection in the Emergency Department of Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from September 1, 2017 to August 31, 2020. Exclusion criteria included 1) aortic aneurysm, 2) intermural aortic hematoma, 3) penetrating aortic ulcer, and 4) patients with prior aortic dissection, but no new hairclip was shown on this CTA. Stanford typing was used for aortic dissection. The patients were divided into two groups for analysis: onset time ≤ 24 h and onset time in 1-14 days. All statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism 9. Student t-test was used for normal distribution and Mann-Whitney U test for non-normally distributed continuous variables. Comparisons of ratios between groups were performed using the χ2 test or Fisher's exact test. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent factors related to the negative rate of D-dimer. A P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results:A total of 352 patients with acute aortic dissection were included in this study. Male patients accounted for 79.26%, patients with a history of hypertension accounted for 70.45%, and the ratio of patients with type A:B acute aortic dissection was 2:3. The overall negative rate of D-dimer was 13.64%. The negative rate of D-dimer of type A acute aortic dissection (7.09%) was significantly lower than that of type B acute aortic dissection (7.09% vs. 18.01%, P=0.004). A total of 17 patients died in the emergency department, with an overall mortality rate of 4.83%. The mortality rate of type A acute aortic dissection patients was significantly higher than that of type B acute aortic dissection ( P<0.05). A total of 235 patients (66.76%) with acute aortic dissection had an onset time of ≤24 h. In the hyperacute phase of ≤24 h, there were no statistically significant differences in sex, age, underlying diseases, and vital signs between the normal and elevated D-dimer groups ( P>0.05). In the laboratory test results, the levels of platelet, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, lactate dehydrogenase, myoglobin, fibrin degradation product, prothrombin time and international normalized ratio of patients in the normal D-dimer group were significantly lower than those in the elevated D-dimer group ( P<0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that the level of FDP was closely related to D-dimer ( P<0.001). Conclusions:The negative rate of D-dimer of type A acute aortic dissection was significantly lower than that of type B acute aortic dissection, but the mortality rate of patients with type A acute aortic dissection was significantly higher than that of type B acute aortic dissection, and the level of FDP was closely related to D-dimer.
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Objective:To evaluate and summary the relevant evidence of emergency target blood pressure management in acute aortic dissection, so as to provide guidance for the evidence-based practice of emergency target blood pressure management.Methods:According to the "6S" evidence pyramid model, the evidence about emergency target blood pressure management of acute aortic dissection in various databases and professional association websites at home and abroad was retrieved, including clinical decision, guidelines, expert consensus, systematic evaluation, randomized controlled trial, cohort study, case series, etc. Two researchers used corresponding literature quality evaluation tools to evaluate the quality of the included literature, extracted and summarized the evidence of the literature above grade B.Results:A total of 22 articles were included in this study, including 6 clinical decisions, 5 guidelines, 7 expert consensus, 1 systematic evaluation, 1 randomized controlled trial, 1 cohort study and 1 case series, forming 37 best evidences, including 9 topics such as target value setting, management strategies, disease observation, medical history collection, monitoring methods, vasoactive drugs, non vasoactive drugs, auxiliary examination, health education.Conclusions:The summarized best evidence provides a reference for emergency medical staff to manage the emergency target blood pressure of acute aortic dissection. It is recommended that emergency medical staff follow the summarized best evidence to formulate an individualized target blood pressure management scheme for patients.
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We experienced a rare case of a patient who had a bicuspid aortic valve associated with acute aortic dissection limited to the sinus of Valsalva involving the left main coronary artery and acute coronary syndrome. The patient was a 36-year-old male who was identified as having a congenital bicuspid aortic valve. He visited our emergency room with a chief complaint of acute chest/back pain. He was diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome based on ECG findings and underwent an emergency coronary angiography. This test revealed filling defects at the entrance of the left main coronary artery, with aortic dissection limited to the sinus of Valsalva suspected. Emergency chest contrast-enhanced CT (ECG gated) led to his being diagnosed as having an acute aortic dissection limited to the sinus of Valsalva. After an intra-aortic balloon pump was inserted in order to maintain the coronary blood flow by surgery, emergency coronary artery bypass surgery and a modified Bentall procedure (the Carrel patch method) were carried out. His postoperative course was good and he was discharged home on the 19th disease day.
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@#Acute lung injury is one of the common and serious complications of acute aortic dissection, and it greatly affects the recovery of patients. Old age, overweight, hypoxemia, smoking history, hypotension, extensive involvement of dissection and pleural effusion are possible risk factors for the acute lung injury before operation. In addition, deep hypothermia circulatory arrest and blood product infusion can further aggravate the acute lung injury during operation. In this paper, researches on risk factors, prediction model, prevention and treatment of acute aortic dissection with acute lung injury were reviewed, in order to provide assistance for clinical diagnosis and treatment.
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It is well known that Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder characterized by congenital abnormality of connective tissue, in which the associated prognosis is affected by aortic lesions, and in particular the onset of aortic dissection, with some reports of familial aortic dissection. Meanwhile, it has been reported that in the absence of genetic disorder, aortic dissection occurring in two or more individuals within a family is rare. We experienced a mother-son case of non-Marfan syndrome that developed aortic dissection on the same day, and thus report our findings. Case 1 (son) was a 32-year-old man with no particular medical history observed. He had experienced epigastric pain in the early morning and come to the emergency room in our hospital, where contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) led to diagnosis of acute aortic dissection (Stanford type B). He was admitted to the intensive care unit, and received treatment by anti-hypertensive therapy. Case 2 (mother) was a 61-year-old woman who was prescribed internal medicines for hypertension. She had been informed that her son was hospitalized for aortic dissection, and had visited the hospital to see him. While visiting her son in the hospital room, she developed sudden chest pain and remarkable cold sweats, and upon undergoing contrast-enhanced CT, she was diagnosed with acute aortic dissection (Stanford type A). Then emergency hemiarch replacement was performed. In the family tree, there were some cases of cerebrovascular disease found on the mother's side. Pathology findings of the aorta for the mother revealed cystic medial necrosis and genetic screening subsequently performed revealed TGFBR2 mutation. Both subjects exhibited good progress, with the son discharged from hospital after three weeks, and the mother discharged 14 days after surgery.
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A man in his fifties was diagnosed with retrograde type A acute aortic dissection. He underwent total arch replacement using the Gelweave Lupiae graft and staged thoracic endovascular aortic repair. Five days after discharge from the hospital, he was referred to our institution because of severe hemolytic anemia. Electrocardiography-gated computed tomography angiography demonstrated significant kinking of the graft adjacent to the proximal anastomotic site. Cine cardiac magnetic resonance imaging showed that graft kinking deteriorated during systole. We concluded that his hemolytic anemia was caused by graft kinking and surgical repair was required. The graft was transected at the kinking site and then reconstructed. After surgical repair, the hemolytic anemia improved immediately.
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The patient was a 50-year-old man who had undergone ascending aortic replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting at another hospital for acute type A aortic dissection 4 years before. He was diagnosed with hemolytic anemia 1 year after surgery for his progressive anemia and high serum lactate dehydrogenase level. He was referred to our hospital because frequent transfusion was required. A computed tomography showed severe kinking of the graft (110°), which we considered to be the cause of hemolysis. Peak pressure gradient was 60 mmHg. To remove the cause of hemolysis and to precipitate thrombosis of the residual false lumen, we performed re-ascending aortic replacement and total arch replacement with a frozen elephant trunk. The postoperative course was uneventful and hemolysis resolved soon after the operation. Surgeons should be aware that severe kinking of a Dacron graft can be a cause of hemolysis.