title: Prevalence of aortic root dilation in patients with CT angiography of the aorta.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the prevalence of aortic root dilation in patients who underwent CT angiography of the thoracic aorta.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 95 patients, 64-slice multislice computed tomography was performed for evaluation of the thoracic aorta. Measurements of the annulus, sinuses of valsalva (SOV), sinotubular junction (STJ), and maximum ascending aorta (AAo) were made by double oblique multiplanar reformation (MPR). For the AAo, STJ, and SOV, dilation was defined as greater than 40 mm; for annulus, the dilation criterion was greater than 27 mm.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 52 patients were diagnosed with a dilated AAo. Of those patients with dilated AAo, 28 patients had a dilated annulus, 27 patients had dilated SOV, and 11 patients had STJ dilation. Forty-three patients presented with normal AAo; 12 patients had annulus dilation; 12 patients had SOV dilation; and 4 patients had STJ dilation. In patients with dilated AAo, 38% also had a dilated annulus, 52% showed SOV dilation, and 21% presented with STJ dilation, compared to 28% annulus dilation, 28% SOV dilation, and 9% STJ dilation in patients with an AAo of normal caliber.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data indicate a higher prevalence of aortic root dilation among patients with dilated AAo.
authors: Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Thoracic Imaging Division, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. ocaki@upmc.edu
authors: Iclal
authors: I
authors: Ocak
authors: Joan M
authors: JM
authors: Lacomis
authors: Christopher R
authors: CR
authors: Deible
authors: Barış
authors: B
authors: Türkbey
authors: Friedrich
authors: F
authors: Knollmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001027:Aortography / Q000379:methods*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D015995:Prevalence; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution