CT of aortic dissections

Dissecting aortic aneurysms are one of the few medical emergencies where prompt recognition is crucial. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography combined with dynamic scanning offers an excellent noninvasive means to evaluate patients with suspected aortic dissection. At the Medical College of Wisconsin, we retrospectively reviewed all patients who were referred to the Section of Computed Body Tomography with the diagnosis of suspected aortic dissection. Over 100 patients were studied. The sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy of computed tomography was greater than 95%.