title: Aortic dissection presenting with pancreatitis.
abstract: Aortic dissections can be challenging to diagnose in the emergency department (ED) because patients can present with a variety of complaints. We present a case involving a woman with multiple comorbidities, who had experienced intermittent abdominal pain for several months, which worsened in the days leading up to her ED visit. She was diagnosed with pancreatitis based on her history and blood work but, incidentally, on computed tomographic scan, also was found to have a Stanford type B aortic dissection. Her dissection and pancreatitis were managed medically with tight blood pressure control without the need for surgical intervention. Several case studies associating acute aortic dissection with acute pancreatitis have been published, but it remains unclear whether these 2 conditions have a causal relationship.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
authors.forename: Thuy V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.forename: Jose V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Nable
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033162:Incidental Findings; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed