Background: There have been contradictory reports about the outcomes of medically treated patients with type A aortic intramural hematoma (AIH), and it is not certain if the initial noninvasive imaging studies can provide any useful predictors for the adverse outcomes.
Methods and results: Imaging studies and clinical outcomes of 25 consecutive patients with type A AIH who initially received medical treatment were analyzed retrospectively. Adverse outcomes (death, surgery, and development of dissection) occurred in 9 patients (group A), whereas the other 16 patients showed an uneventful course (group B). The hematoma thickness (14+/-4 versus 8+/-4 mm, P<0.005) and hematoma area (988+/-316 versus 555+/-352 mm2, P<0.01) in the imaging study performed <or=48 hours after onset of initial symptoms were significantly larger in group A; maximal aortic diameter (53+/-6 versus 48+/-8 mm, P=0.10) and aortic cross-sectional area (2247+/-501 versus 1809+/-626 mm2, P=0.09) were also somewhat larger in group A. The hematoma thickness was the only independent predictor for the adverse outcomes by stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis (odds ratio 1.41, 95% confidence interval 1.07 to 1.86, P<0.05). Hematoma thickness >or=11 mm predicted the adverse outcomes with sensitivity 89% and specificity 69%. No one with hemodynamically stable initial condition and the hematoma thickness <11 mm experienced the adverse outcomes.
Conclusions: Noninvasive imaging study provides important prognostic information in the medical treatment of acute type A AIH, and initial hematoma thickness seems to be the best index for predicting adverse clinical outcome.