Using D-Dimer to Diagnose Painless Acute Aortic Dissection: A Case Report
Introduction. Aortic dissection is a cardiovascular emergency; the most frequent symptom is chest pain, but clinical presentation can be varied and atypical. Case Presentation. We report the case of a 66-year-old Caucasian male who presented a syncope immediately followed by a left-arm weakness whi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Hindawi Limited
2011-01-01
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| Series: | Case Reports in Emergency Medicine |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/395613 |
| Summary: | Introduction. Aortic dissection is a cardiovascular emergency; the most frequent symptom is chest pain, but clinical presentation can be varied and atypical.
Case Presentation. We report the case of a 66-year-old Caucasian male who presented a syncope immediately followed by a left-arm weakness while driving his car. Clinical examination was normal, but bilateral jugular vein distension was noted. Electrocardiogram and chest radiography were unremarkable. Among blood tests performed, troponin I test result was negative, and D-dimer test concentration was >4000 ng/mL. Since D-dimer test result was positive, chest computer tomography angiogram was performed and found a thoracic aortic dissection. Conclusion. Our case report shows that acute aortic dissection diagnosis is difficult and must be associated with the interpretation of various clinical signs and D-dimer measurement. It could be helpful for the emergency physician to have a pretest probability D-dimer like in pulmonary embolism diagnosis. |
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| ISSN: | 2090-648X 2090-6498 |