title: [Acute aortic dissecting: contribution of transesophageal echography. Apropos of 10 cases].
abstract: The diagnostic value of combined transthoracic (TTE) and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was evaluated in 10 consecutive patients with acute dissecting aneurysm of the aorta and compared to aortography (10 cases) and computed tomography (7 cases). TEE seems to be highly superior to TTE because the intimal flap in always seen (versus 4 of the 10 TTEs) and the descending aorta and the entry site are better visualized. TEE is superior to X-ray computed tomography because it shows the direction of the flow in the false lumen (an advantage of a color Doppler), the entry site and aortic regurgitation. In spite of false-positives (1/10), TEE seems to be at least as good as aortography, the most reliable, but highly invasive, technique available. Thus, transesophageal echocardiography, performed at the patient's bedside, appears to be a promising non-invasive tool for diagnosing suspected dissecting aneurysms of the aorta.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Echocardiographie, Hôpital Cardiologique du Haut-Lévêque, Pessac.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Chevalier
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roudaut
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Egloff
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Coste
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Durandet
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Besse
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dallocchio
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001027:Aortography; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
vernacular_title: Dissection aortique aiguë: apport de l'échographie transoesophagienne. A propos de 10 observations.