Acute type B aortic dissection in elderly patients: clinical features, outcomes, and simple risk stratification rule.
BACKGROUND
The clinical features and outcomes of elderly patients with acute type B aortic dissection (ABAD) are less well known. Accordingly, we sought to evaluate the clinical features and outcomes and derive a simple risk stratification rule for elderly with ABAD.


METHODS
We categorized 383 patients with ABAD enrolled in the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection into two strata (aged less than 70 years and aged 70 years or more) and compared their clinical features and in-hospital outcomes. Further, we developed a clinical decision rule to risk-stratify elderly with ABAD.


RESULTS
Forty-two percent (161 of 383) of patients with ABAD were aged 70 years or more. Hypertension, diabetes, history of prior aortic aneurysm, and arteriosclerosis were more common in the elderly patients, whereas Marfan syndrome and cocaine abuse were less common. The in-hospital complication of hypotension/shock was more common among elderly, and malperfusion of a visceral organ less frequent among elderly patients. In-hospital mortality was higher in the elderly cohort compared with the younger patients (16% versus 10%, p = 0.07). A classification tree identified that elderly patients with hypotension/shock had the highest risk of death (56%). In absence of this, any branch vessel involvement was associated with the next highest mortality rate (28.6%) followed by presence of periaortic hematoma (10.5%). In contrast, elderly patients without any of these three risk factors had an extremely low mortality rate (1.3%).


CONCLUSIONS
Our study highlights important differences between older and younger patients with ABAD in their clinical characteristics, management, and outcomes. We also propose a simple decision rule that allows stepwise risk-stratification in elderly patients with ABAD.
Mehta
Rajendra H
RH
Department of Cardiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105, USA. rmehta@umich.edu
Bossone
Eduardo
E
Evangelista
Arturo
A
O'Gara
Patrick T
PT
Smith
Dean E
DE
Cooper
Jeanna V
JV
Oh
Jae K
JK
Januzzi
James L
JL
Hutchison
Stuart
S
Gilon
Dan
D
Pape
Linda A
LA
Nienaber
Christoph A
CA
Isselbacher
Eric M
EM
Eagle
Kim A
KA
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D003663:Decision Trees; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016896:Treatment Outcome