Aortic dissection in the ED: a medico-legal perspective on diagnostic delays and failures.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Aortic dissection is a life-threatening emergency and delayed or missed diagnoses can result in significant morbidity and mortality for patients.

Methods

We conducted a quantitative and qualitative analysis of medico-legal cases from a national repository involving thoracic aortic dissection seen in the emergency department during a 10-year period. We thematically analyzed peer expert criticism of the care in these cases, including provider, team, and systems factors related to diagnostic issues. We also applied two clinical decision tools to explore whether use of these tools could have affected the diagnostic process.

Results

Of 3,531 medico-legal cases in the emergency department during our study period, just 43 were related to aortic dissection. Patients w

SUBMITTER: Fortier JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12628382 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature