How Not To Miss Aortic Dissections: David Carr

David Carr teaches you how not to miss the diagnosis of aortic dissection. David breaks down the key pearls on history and physical exam that guide you into correctly suspecting a dissection. Aortic dissection is a challenging diagnosis that you cannot afford to miss. The talk aims to give you the framework to avoid missing the diagnosis. Firstly, David begins by teaching you what questions to ask in the history to raise the suspicion of an aortic dissection. These include onset, quality, and radiation. As he explains, these simple three questions will raise the suspicion in the vast majority of cases. If you do not ask these three questions, you may as well be flipping a coin! Secondly, David goes on to an in-depth explanation of the pain patterns that can present in an aortic dissection. He describes the concept of chest pain plus one. David delves into what he sees as the questions and considerations only a ‘master clinician’ will think of. He implores you to join this group. Evidently, the physical exam provides vital clues to the diagnosis of aortic dissection. In this talk, David breaks down the key points that he always considers in a busy and noisy Emergency Department to lead him towards the correct diagnosis. Next is the diagnostics, where David will spend some time sharing his insights into the diagnostic tests of choice when ruling in or out an aortic dissection. He discusses the plain x-ray which may or may not be useful, troponin, which need to be interpreted with care and d-dimer. Finally, David concludes by giving some pearls surrounding the judicious use of imaging, how to begin the treatment promptly and how to become a champion in the diagnosis of aortic dissection. Sit back and be ready to see dissections in a different light. How Not To Miss Aortic Dissections: David Carr For more like this, head to our podcast page. #CodaPodcast