Acute aortic dissection presenting as case of accidental falling with flaccidity of left lower extremity.
Aortic dissection is often a catastrophic, life-threatening condition that may not always present with symptoms. Without intensive treatment, the mortality within the first 2 weeks of onset is reportedly as high as 80%. Acute aortic dissection classically presents with the symptoms of abrupt chest pain that sometimes radiates to the back, abdominal pain, or back pain alone. The patient may be cool and clammy, which is indicative of a shock syndrome. It can be associated with neurologic sequelae in as many as one third of all patients. Painless dissection occurs in approximately 5% of patients, and the diagnosis may often be delayed. We report a case of aortic dissection where the patient presented with a history of accidental fall and a new onset of flaccidity of the left lower limb.
Lin
Bao-Fang
BF
Department of Emergency, Hsin Chu General Hospital, Hsinchu City 300, Taiwan ROC; Department of Health, Executive Yuan, Taiwan ROC.
Chen
Yi-Shan
YS
Department of Emergency, Hsin Chu General Hospital, Hsinchu City 300, Taiwan ROC; Department of Health, Executive Yuan, Taiwan ROC.
Weng
Hsiao-Fen
HF
Department of Emergency, Hsin Chu General Hospital, Hsinchu City 300, Taiwan ROC; Department of Health, Executive Yuan, Taiwan ROC.
Chia
Wei-Tso
WT
Department of Emergency, Hsin Chu General Hospital, Hsinchu City 300, Taiwan ROC; Department of Health, Executive Yuan, Taiwan ROC. Electronic address: 4926602@yahoo.com.tw.
D000058:Accidental Falls; D000208:Acute Disease; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009123:Muscle Hypotonia / Q000209:etiology*; D010291:Paresis / Q000209:etiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed