title: Pulmonary artery dissection mimicking mediastinal mass.
abstract: Pulmonary artery dissection (PAD) is a rare diagnosis that is often made postmortem in patients with pulmonary hypertension. It can be visualized by echocardiography, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance imaging. We present a patient with emphysematous chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and secondary pulmonary hypertension in whom a PAD appeared like a mediastinal mass on computed tomography. The diagnosis was made at autopsy. We think that physicians should consider the possibility of a PAD in patients with chronic pulmonary hypertension who present with dyspnea and chest pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Berkshire Medical Center, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Halil
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mutlu
authors.forename: Ihsan Ekin
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Demir
authors.forename: Lynn N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Mutlu
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Doyle
mesh_terms: D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006322:Heart Aneurysm / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011651:Pulmonary Artery; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis; D019043:Vascular Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*