Post-Discharge Mortality in Patients with Type B Aortic Dissection

Patients with acute Type B aortic dissection, which involves the descending aorta, tend to have better in-hospital prognoses than those with Type A dissection, which involves the ascending aorta. However, post-discharge, the diagnosis of Type B dissection still carries a high risk for death. The prognostic importance of false-lumen patency has been documented; higher risk is associated with a patent false lumen than with complete thrombosis of the false lumen. These investigators used the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection (IRAD), a registry of patients from 22 aortic centers in 11 countries, to study the effect of partial thrombosis of the false lumen on outcomes of Type B aortic dissection.

Of 532 patients with type B dissec…