title: Fast CT for aortic dissection.
abstract: Results were evaluated in 81 patients with suspected acute aortic dissection who were examined on a fast CT system capable of a 1 s data acquisition time. 17 patients had Type A and nine had Type B dissections. Radiological assessment provided 78 confident reports and expressed some uncertainty about the diagnosis in three patients. Overall sensitivity for aortic dissection was 96.2% and specificity was 96.4%. When 78 confident reports alone were considered, both sensitivity and specificity reached 100%. Reconstruction of data at 100 ms intervals allowed discrimination between artefacts in the ascending aorta and Type A dissections. CT can often be used as the single investigation prior to surgery for acute Type A dissections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Addenbrooke's Hospital NHS Trust, UK.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Small
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Coulden
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Flower
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Housden
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*