title: Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery mimicking aortic dissection at transesophageal echocardiography.
abstract: Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is the most common imaging modality for the detection of acute aortic syndromes. However anomalous anatomic structures may be occasionally misunderstood as pathologic due of lack of familiarity with anatomical variations; false-positive diagnosis can result, potentially leading to unnecessary surgical intervention. It is crucial for echocardiographers to be aware of possible pitfalls which may create false positive findings, since the complementary use of other imaging modalities, such as multislice spiral computed tomography (MSCT), could improve the diagnostic accuracy of TEE. We report a case in which an image resembling an acute aortic dissection (AAD) on transthoracic (TTE) and transesophageal echocardiography was found in a patient with acute chest pain; MSCT detected an anomalous origin of the right coronary artery as cause of false aortic dissection image at echocardiography.
authors.affiliation: Cardiopulmonary Science Department, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Udine, P.le S. Maria della Misericordia, 15, 33100, Udine, Italy. gnucifora@cardionet.it
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nucifora
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gianfagna
authors.forename: Luigi Paolo
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Badano
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Piccoli
authors.forename: Fjoralba
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hysko
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Allocca
authors.forename: Margherita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cinello
authors.forename: Paolo Maria
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Fioretti
mesh_terms: D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003287:Contrast Media; D003330:Coronary Vessel Anomalies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal; D004562:Electrocardiography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media