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Symptoms
It is difficult to rely on symptoms to diagnose a thoracic aortic injury. However some symptoms do include severe chest pain, cough, shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing due to compression of the esophagus, back pain, and hoarseness due to involvement of the recurrent laryngeal nerve. There might be external signs such as bruising on the anterior chest wall do to a traumatic injury. Clinical signs are uncommon and nonspecific but can include generalized hypertension due to the injury involving the sympathetic afferent nerves in the aortic isthmus. A murmur can also be audible as turbulent blood flow goes over the tear.

Mechanism
The aortic wall is made up of three different components the inner layer (intima), the muscle layer (media), and the outer layer (adventitia). A traumatic injury to the thoracic aorta can cause disruption of any of these parts. Therefore aortic injury is on a scale from injury to a part of the inner layer to a complete tear of all three layers.

There are 4 grades of aortic injury.
 * Type I: Intimal tear
 * Type II: Intramural hematoma
 * Type III: Pseudoaneurysm
 * Type IV: Rupture

In addition to the 4 grades of aortic injury the risk of rupture can also be categorized. If both the inner layer and the muscle layer of the aortic wall are both involved in the injury then the injury is categorized as significant aortic injury. If just the inner layer and a portion of the muscle layer are involved in the injury then the injury is characterized as minimal aortic injury. Radiographically this would be seen as an intimal flap less than 1cm in size.

Between the mobile ascending aorta and the relatively fixed descending thoracic aorta is the aortic isthmus. When there is a sudden deceleration the mobile ascending aorta pushes forward creating a whiplash effect on the aortic isthmus. However, a different mechanism is involved when the ascending aorta proximal to the isthmus is torn. When there is a rapid deceleration the heart is pushed to the left posterior chest. This causes a sudden increase in intra-aortic pressure and can cause aortic rupture. This is known as the water hammer effect.

Based on the location of the injury in the thorax subsequent injuries can take place. If the injury is in the descending thoracic aorta this could lead to a hemothorax. Where as an injury to the ascending aorta could lead to hemoperricardium and subsequent tamponade or could compress the SVC.

Diagnosis
The gold standard for diagnosis of thoracic aortic injury is aortagraphy. The primary benefit of aortagraphy is the ability to precisely determine the location of injury for surgical planning. Another imaging modality is CT angiogram which has a sensitivity of 100%. Since a CT angiogram has a sensitivity of 100% and less invasive than aortagraphy it is the primary imaging choice. This allows visualization of the aorta and provides precise locations of traumatic injury. A CT angiogram does show both direct and indirect signs of aortic injury. The indirect sign that you can see is effacement of fat due to a hematoma. This sign should clue in a radiologist that there is an underlying injury. Some direct signs from a CT include having an intimal flap, irregularity of the shape of the aorta, filling defects secondary to a thrombus, or out pouching of the aorta.

However, non contrasted CT scans, chest X-rays, and trans esophageal echo can also be used. Chest X-rays most sensitive finding is a widened mediastinum of greater than 8 cm. An apical cap and displacement of the trachea can also bee seen. A normal chest X-ray however does not exclude a diagnosis of thoracic aortic injury. A chest X-ray can also be useful to diagnose subsequent problems caused by aortic rupture such as pneumothorax or hemothorax. CT scans might show an intimal flap, periaortic hematoma, luminal filling defect, aortic contour abnormality, pseudoaneurysm, contained rupture, vessel wall disruption, active extravasation of intravenous contrast from the aorta and is therefore useful to assess for minimal aortic injury. Trans esophageal echos are useful in patients that are hemodynamically unstable, but the sensitivity and specificity of this study varies based on clinical user. If esophageal injury is expected or the patient has difficulty maintaining their away then the trans esophageal echo is contraindicated.

Treatment
The first line treatment for patients with thoracic aortic injury is maintaining the patient's airway with incubation and treating secondary injuries such as a hemothorax. After ensuring the patient has a patent airway and other injuries are

Due to the constant risk of sudden rupture or exsanguination urgent treatment is necessary. A patient can either undergo endovascular repair or surgical repair. Endovascular repair is the current gold standard due to increased success rates and lower complications. Patients that are able to undergo endovascular repair without contraindications should proceed with it. Repair should be delayed if there is life threatening intra-abdominal or intracranial bleeding or if the patient is at risk for infection.

Endovascular repair is done by first gaining vascular access usually through the femoral artery. A catheter is inserted to the point of injury and a luminal stent is deployed.

Surgical repair is done by way of a thoracotomy or opening of the chest wall. From this point multiple methods can be used but the most successful methods enable distal perfusion to prevent ischemia.

While waiting for surgery careful regulation of blood pressure is necessary. Systolic blood pressure should be maintained between 100 and 120 mmHg allowing for perfusion distal to the injury but decreasing the risk of rupture. Esmolol is first choice to maintain blood pressure, but if the blood pressure is not within range adding nitroprusside sodium can be added as a second agent. The treatment is similar to what is done for aortic dissections.

If the patient has minimal aortic injury then the patient can be managed non surgically. Rather the patient can be followed with serial images. If the patient does develop a more sever injury including a full thickness injury through the media layer then the patient should be treated with surgery.

Outcomes
Thoracic aortic injury is the 2nd leading cause of death involving both blunt trauma. 80% of patients that have a thoracic aortic injury will die immediately. Of the patients that do make it to be evaluated only 50% will survive 24 hours.

Epidemiology
Thoracic aortic injury is most commonly caused by a penetrating trauma in up to 90% of cases. Of these cases around 28% are confined to the thoracic portion of the aorta including the ascending aorta, aorta arch, and the descending aorta. Of the thoracic aortic injuries the ligament arteriosum is the most common location followed by the portion of the aorta after the origin of the left subclavian artery. The most common mechanism leading to thoracic aortic injury is a motor vehicle collision. Other mechanisms include airplane crashes, falling from a large height and landing on a hard surface, or any injury that causes substantial pressure to the sternum. The incidence of thoracic aortic injuries is approximately 1 in 100,000.