Anticoagulant therapy for suspected pulmonary embolism must be withheld until acute aortic dissection is definitively excluded to prevent fatal outcomes.
A case of fatal ascending aortic dissection (AAD) misdiagnosed as pulmonary embolism (PE) despite strong radiological evidence is described. The occurrence of this serious pathology is uncommon. Its prompt diagnosis and treatment are crucial. Anticoagulant therapy for pulmonary embolism should be withheld until acute aortic dissection is excluded definitively. A management approach to optimise the outcome of patients with chest pain in which ascending aortic dissection and/or pulmonary embolism are suspected is presented.
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H Kalouche (2001) studied this question.
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