Half of patients with acute aortic dissection in England die before reaching a specialist centre

Abstract

Around 20% of patients with acute aortic dissection die before reaching any hospital and 50% die before reaching a specialist centre, according to an investigation by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch.1 The report on delayed recognition of acute aortic dissection analysed hospital activity and other national datasets, and found that it may occur in around 4.5 per 100 000 of the population per year, equal to around 2500 cases per year in England. It showed that a delay in diagnosis occurs in around 16-40% of cases and is more likely if patients walk in to the hospital or if doctors initially suspect that there is a cardiac cause for chest pain. The report said hospitals in England …

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