Articles: aortic-rupture-etiology.
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The optimal timing for repair of a high-grade blunt thoracic aortic injury (BTAI) is uncertain. Delayed repair is common and associated with improved outcomes, but some lesions may rupture during observation. To determine optimal patient selection for appropriate management, we developed a pilot clinical risk score to evaluate aortic stability and predict rupture. ⋯ This novel risk score can be applied on admission using clinically relevant factors that incorporate patient physiology, size of the aortic lesion, and extent of the mediastinal hematoma. The model reliably identifies and distinguishes patients with high-grade BTAI who are at risk for early rupture from those with stable lesions. Although preliminary, because it is more accurate than clinical assessment alone, the score may improve patient selection for emergency or delayed intervention.
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Comparative Study
Finite element analysis of abdominal aortic aneurysms: predicted rupture risk correlates with aortic wall histology in individual patients.
To evaluate a finite element analysis (FEA) model as a predictive tool for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture risk assessment. ⋯ These preliminary results show that high rupture risk regions estimated by FEA contain increased histopathological degeneration compared to low rupture risk samples within the same AAA. Until now, the role of FEA in predicting individual AAA rupture risk has not been established as a validated diagnostic tool. However, these data provide promising results for FEA model verification.