Aortic Dissection of Unknown Origin in a Young Patient: A Case Report

Aortic dissection occurs when a tear develops in the wall of the aorta, which is rare in the young population. This fatal disorder is hard to diagnose, especially in young patients. We present the case of aortic dissection in a 15-year-old boy referred to the Emergency Department of Yazd University of Medical Sciences in November 2015. The patient presented to our department with sudden acute chest pain. Emergent computed tomography (CT) scanning of the brain, chest, and abdomen reflected bilateral pleural effusion, biluminal aorta, arterial flap in the upper part of the abdominal aorta, and dilated small bowl loop. The patient did not have any aortic dissection risk factors such as history of connective tissue disease, congenital heart disease, coarctation of the aorta, and hypertension. The only noticeable point in the patient’s history was swimming two hours before the onset of the chest pain. Aortic dissection is a rare differential diagnosis in children with acute sudden chest pain.