Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Section 1 Brain, head, and neck
- Section 2 Spine
- Section 3 Thorax
- Section 4 Cardiovascular
- Case 39 Aortic pulsation artifact
- Case 40 Mediastinal widening due to non-hemorrhagic causes
- Case 41 Aortic injury with normal mediastinal width
- Case 42 Retrocrural periaortic hematoma
- Case 43 Mimicks of hemopericardium on FAST
- Case 44 Mimicks of acute thoracic aortic syndromes: aortic dissection, intramural hematoma, and penetrating aortic ulcer
- Case 45 Aortic intramural hematoma
- Case 46 Pitfalls in peripheral CT angiography
- Case 47 Breathing artifact simulating pulmonary embolism
- Case 48 Acute versus chronic pulmonary thromboembolism
- Case 49 Vascular embolization of foreign body
- Section 5 Abdomen
- Section 6 Pelvis
- Section 7 Musculoskeletal
- Section 8 Pediatrics
- Index
- References
Case 39 - Aortic pulsation artifact
from Section 4 - Cardiovascular
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Section 1 Brain, head, and neck
- Section 2 Spine
- Section 3 Thorax
- Section 4 Cardiovascular
- Case 39 Aortic pulsation artifact
- Case 40 Mediastinal widening due to non-hemorrhagic causes
- Case 41 Aortic injury with normal mediastinal width
- Case 42 Retrocrural periaortic hematoma
- Case 43 Mimicks of hemopericardium on FAST
- Case 44 Mimicks of acute thoracic aortic syndromes: aortic dissection, intramural hematoma, and penetrating aortic ulcer
- Case 45 Aortic intramural hematoma
- Case 46 Pitfalls in peripheral CT angiography
- Case 47 Breathing artifact simulating pulmonary embolism
- Case 48 Acute versus chronic pulmonary thromboembolism
- Case 49 Vascular embolization of foreign body
- Section 5 Abdomen
- Section 6 Pelvis
- Section 7 Musculoskeletal
- Section 8 Pediatrics
- Index
- References
Summary
Imaging description
A common artifact that can mimic blunt traumatic aortic injury (BTAI) or an aortic dissection is pulsation artifact. This artifact occurs most commonly in the ascending aorta, but it may occur elsewhere in the thoracic aorta, including the aortic isthmus ([1–4]. Pulsation artifacts have been identified in up to 92% of non-ECG-gated CT scans [3]. Blunt traumatic aortic injuries involving the ascending aorta and root are extremely rarely encounted in the emergency department as these patients almost always die before reaching the hospital [4–6]. In the vast majority of cases, pulsation artifact affects the left anterior and right posterior aspects of the aortic circumference [3]. This artifact, which can also simulate aortic dissection, is described in more detail in Case 43. Important differentiating features are extension of the linear hypodensity of pulsation artifact into the mediastinal fat, and similar “pseudoflaps” in the main pulmonary artery and superior vena cava at the same slice level (Figure 39.1). Multiplanar reformations can be very useful. Other helpful differentiating features include the absence of periaortic hematoma (in suspected BTAI) and the presence of similar artifacts on adjacent structures such as tubes and lines (Figure 39.2).
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- Chapter
- Information
- Pearls and Pitfalls in Emergency RadiologyVariants and Other Difficult Diagnoses, pp. 131 - 132Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2013