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Simple Renal Cysts as Markers of Thoracic Aortic Disease
Bulat A Ziganshin1, Panagiotis Theodoropoulos2, Mohammad N Salloum2
1Aortic Institute at Yale-New Haven Hospital, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT (B.A.Z., P.T., M.N.S., K.J.Z., M.T., H.R.M., J.A.R., J.A.E.) Department of Surgical Diseases # 2, Kazan State Medical University, Kazan, Russia (B.A.Z.).
Insights
Simple renal cysts (SRC) are more common in patients with thoracic aortic disease (TAD). This finding suggests SRC may help predict TAD risk, aiding early detection of this silent condition.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Nephrology
- Medical Diagnostics
Background:
- Thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAD) is often asymptomatic, necessitating reliable clinical markers for early detection.
- Established TAD markers include bicuspid aortic valve and family history.
- Recent research links simple renal cysts (SRC) to abdominal aortic aneurysms and dissections.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence of SRC in patients diagnosed with thoracic aortic disease (TAD).
- To determine if SRC can serve as a predictive marker for identifying individuals at risk of TAD.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 842 patients with TAD and 543 controls from 2004-2013.
- Patients with TAD were categorized into ascending aortic aneurysm, descending aortic aneurysm, type A aortic dissection, and type B aortic dissection.
- SRC presence was determined via abdominal CT or MRI scans.
Main Results:
- The prevalence of SRC in TAD patients ranged from 37.5% to 57.0% across different TAD subtypes.
- SRC prevalence in the control group was significantly lower at 15.3%.
- No significant difference in SRC prevalence was observed between male and female patients with TAD.
Conclusions:
- This study demonstrates a significantly higher prevalence of SRC in patients with thoracic aortic disease (TAD).
- Simple renal cysts (SRC) show potential as a novel marker for the early detection of individuals at risk for TAD.
Background:
Thoracic aortic aneurysm is usually a clinically silent disease; timely detection is largely dependent upon identification of clinical markers of thoracic aortic disease (TAD); (bicuspid aortic valve, intracranial aortic aneurysm, bovine aortic arch, or positive family history). Recently, an association of simple renal cysts (SRC) with abdominal aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection was established. The aim of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of SRC in patients with TAD in order to assess whether the presence of SRC can be used as a predictor of TAD.
Methods And Results:
We evaluated the prevalence of SRC in 842 patients with TAD (64.0% males) treated at our institution from 2004 to 2013 and compared to a control group of patients (n=543; 56.2% males). Patients were divided into 4 groups: ascending aortic aneurysm (456; 54.2%); descending aortic aneurysm (86; 10.2%); type A aortic dissection (118; 14.0%); and type B aortic dissection (182; 21.6%). SRC were identified by abdominal computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging of these patients. Prevalence of SRC is 37.5%, 57.0%, 44.1%, and 47.3% for patients with ascending aneurysm, descending aneurysm, type A dissection, and type B dissection, respectively. Prevalence of SRC in the control group was 15.3%. Prevalence of SRC was not significantly different between male and female aortic disease patients, despite reported general male predominance (2:1), which was also observed in our control group (1.7:1).
Conclusions:
This study establishes an increased prevalence of SRC in patients with TAD. SRC can potentially be used as a marker for timely detection of patients at risk of TAD.
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