Mid- to Long-Term Outcomes in Management of Spontaneous Isolated Coeliac Artery Dissection (SICAD)

Dissection of the Celiac Trunk Is a Mild Disease

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to assess whether the presence of an aneurysmal or dissecting arterial disease was a risk factor of poor prognosis in patients presenting a dissection of the celiac trunk (CT).

METHODS

All patients presenting a CT dissection between January 1, 2014, and June 30, 2022, were included. Patients with a CT dissection due to the extension of an aortic dissection were excluded. Les antécédents familiaux de dissection, de maladie anévrysmale, de maladie athéromateuse ou du tissu conjonctif, la pratique d'une activité physique ou sportive, un effort inhabituel les jours précédant la dissection ainsi qu'un traumatisme étaient recherchés. Family history of dissection, aneurysmal disease, atheromatous or connective tissue disease, physical activity or sport, an unusual effort in the days prior to the dissection and trauma were sought after. Ischemic or aneurysmal complications in the acute phase and the evolution of the dissection were evaluated and compared between patients with an isolated dissection and those presenting an aneurysmal or dissecting arterial disease.

RESULTS

45 patients were included in the study. Twenty-three (51.1%) patients presented with symptomatic CT dissection, and 22 (48.9%) with asymptomatic CT dissection. All the patients initially had medical management alone. The mean follow-up was 32 ± 25 months and all patients were asymptomatic at the time last news. 24 (53.3%) presented an isolated CT dissection, and 21 (46.7%) a CT dissection associated with aneurysmal or dissecting arterial disease. There was no significant difference between patients with an isolated CT dissection and those with an associated dissecting or aneurysmal pathology.

CONCLUSIONS

CT dissection is a stable disease in the midterm, which makes it a mild arterial pathology, with or without aneurysmal or dissecting anomalies in another territory. The mechanical stress exerted on the CT by the arcuate ligament could be responsible for parietal trauma and favor the occurrence of a CT dissection.

Multi-modal imaging for the diagnosis of spontaneous visceral artery dissection: A case report

BACKGROUND

Spontaneous visceral artery dissection (SVAD) is a rare condition that affects the visceral arteries, such as the celiac, superior mesenteric, and inferior mesenteric arteries, without involving the aorta. Organ ischemia or hemorrhage from vessel rupture can occur in SVAD; therefore, prompt detection and management is essential. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) has been used to diagnose most of the previous cases, but few studies have explored the potential of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for early detection of this disease.

CASE SUMMARY

A 53-year-old male presented with complaints of poor appetite and abnormal liver function for the past 6 months. He had previously undergone transabdominal splenectomy, esophagogastric devascularization, and cholecystectomy for gallstones and severe portal hypertension. Liver ultrasound was performed in our department to assess liver status. An abnormal hepatic artery spectrum was observed, and dissection involving both the celiac artery and the common hepatic artery was observed. A CEUS was then performed and clearly showed the entry site of the intimal tear and the false lumen, and dissection was subsequently confirmed by CECT. The patient was asymptomatic; therefore, treatment to control the blood pressure was provided, and follow-up was recommended. After 6 months of follow-up, the celiac artery was found to be dilated with an adherent thrombus visible in the wall, and the common hepatic artery was occluded with the presence of collateralization. Despite these findings, no significant changes in liver function were observed.

CONCLUSION

Multi-modal imaging is effective in diagnosing SVAD, and conservative treatment is a choice for asymptomatic patients.

Management of Spontaneous Isolated Celiac Artery Dissection

BACKGROUND

Spontaneous isolated celiac artery dissection (SICAD) is uncommon, with very few series reported in the literature. The present study aims to describe the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients with SICAD treated at a single Chilean institution over 20 years.

METHODS

A retrospective review of all patients from a single academic hospital with SICAD diagnosed between January 2003 and March 2023 was performed. Conservative treatment included antiplatelets, anticoagulation, or both. The normal size of a celiac artery in our population was 7.9 ± 0.79 mm in females and 8.3 ± 1.08 mm in males. We defined a celiac artery with a diameter equal to or more than 12.5 mm as an aneurysmal celiac artery.

RESULTS

The cohort included 27 patients; 77.8% (n = 21) were males. The median age was 51.0 years (range: 38-84 years). Fourteen (51.8%) patients presented with aneurysmal dilatation. Fourteen (51.8%) patients were treated with antiplatelets, 6 (22.2%) patients with anticoagulation, and 7 (25.9%) with anticoagulation and antiplatelets. One patient was treated with endovascular therapy due to a pseudoaneurysm of the celiac artery detected 10 days after conservative treatment with antiplatelets. The median length of hospital stay was 5 days (range: 2-14 days). Complete remodeling was seen in 6 (22.2%) patients, partial remodeling in 10 (37.0%) patients, and no change was seen in 8 (26.9%) patients. Three (11.5%) patients were lost to follow-up. There were no significant differences between treatments and remodeling outcomes (P = 0.729). The median celiac artery diameter of patients with aneurysmal dilatation was 13.5 mm (range: 12.5-20.5 mm). Systemic arterial hypertension was found more commonly in patients who presented with aneurysmal dilatation than in patients without (87.5% vs. 12.5%, respectively, P = 0.016). Mean follow-up was 41.5 months and median follow-up was 16 months (range: 6-204 months).

CONCLUSIONS

Most patients with SICAD can be treated conservatively with excellent outcomes. Hypertension was more commonly found in patients with SICAD and aneurysmal dilatation.

A useful modality of CT angiography image to identify medical emergency in isolated celiac artery dissection type I: A case report with longest follow-up and literature review

Symptomatic isolated celiac artery (CA) dissection (SICAD) is an extremely rare form of visceral artery dissection. It is diagnosed by a contrast abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan showing a CA dissection (CAD). There are 4 types of CAD: Type I-IV. Type I has entry and re-entry and no true luminal narrowing. All types other than type I have entry and re-entry. They have true lumen compression and true lumen constriction due to false lumen. We report a case with the longest follow-up, 120 months after symptom onset, without evidence of CAD exacerbation. A 56-year-old man presented with a sudden onset of abdominal and back pain. He had a past medical history of left pneumothorax, pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of 23, and hypertension on medication since the age of 46. On physical examination, he had mild muscle rebound tenderness in the epigastric region. The curved multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) of the urgent 3-dimensional contrast-enhanced abdominal computed tomography angiography (CTA) showed an isolated celiac artery dissection type I. Given the risk of emergency surgery for total occlusion of the CA, conservative management with analgesics during hospitalization resolved the abdominal pain, and the patient was discharged 3 days later. Subsequently, a total of 5 CTAs were performed over 120 months, but no worsening of CA arterial dissection and CA occlusion findings were observed. In type I SICAD cases, arterial dissection, and CA occlusion may progress, in which case emergency stenting or endovascular treatment may be indicated, and close follow-up such as CTA is required.

Spontaneous Celiac Artery Dissection with Splenic Infarction: A Report of Two Cases

Spontaneous isolated celiac artery dissection (SICAD) is a rare condition that is characterized by sudden onset abdominal pain, typically occurring in middle-aged men. Although its clinical course is mostly benign, it may progress to true lumen occlusion. No established therapeutic guidelines are available for SICAD associated with splenic infarction. This report describes two patients who presented with sudden onset abdominal pain and were diagnosed with SICAD with splenic infarction based on computed tomography (CT) findings. Patients were treated with bowel rest and anticoagulants. After a week of medical therapy, the abdominal pain resolved. Follow-up CT revealed no progression of the dissection flap. The patients received oral anticoagulants for 3 months and did not experience any symptom recurrence. Medical therapy with anticoagulants may be considered for patients with SICAD and splenic infarction. Associated splenic infarction itself is not an indication for endovascular or surgical intervention for SICAD.

The management of spontaneous isolated celiac artery dissection: A case report and literature review

OBJECTIVES

Spontaneous isolated celiac artery dissection (SICAD) without associated aortic dissection is a rare disease. Complications are ischemia, aneurysm formation, and rupture. Different treatment options have been reported for managing SICAD, including conservative management, endovascular intervention, and open surgery. Despite the increased recognition of this disease, there are no consensus guidelines on management of this condition. To improve the knowledge and treatment of this disease, a case of SICAD was reported.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We describe the case of a 57-year-old woman with SICAD whose symptoms improved after endovascular treatment when conservative treatment failed and systematically analyze the management strategy for patients with SICAD.

CONCLUSIONS

SICAD is a rare disease and has no universally agreed upon guidelines for treatment. Most patients can be first treated conservatively for dissection with strict blood pressure control, antithrombotic therapy, and intensive surveillance. For SICAD patients with aneurysms located in the celiac trunk, stent grafts can be used in such patients without affecting the branch blood supply.

General features, management strategies, and outcomes of symptomatic spontaneous isolated celiac artery dissection

Objectives

Spontaneous isolated celiac artery dissection (SICAD) is a rare condition that has not been fully investigated and reported, and very little is known regarding its prognosis and management. Here, we aimed to provide more evidence on the management strategy and outcome for symptomatic SICAD based on the experience of a single center.

Methods

From January 2018 to December 2021, a total of consecutive 51 patients with symptomatic SICAD were retrospectively included in this study. These patients had been selectively treated with conservative treatment (n = 31) or endovascular treatment (n = 20). Baseline data, imaging findings, treatment strategy, outcomes, and follow-up data have been described and analyzed.

Results

The mean age of the patients was 53.2 ± 9.6 years, 44 (86.3%) were male, and 36 (70.6%) had hypertension. The median length of stay was 10.0 days. The complete remission rate was 92.2% on discharge. The median follow-up time was 21.0 months. A secondary intervention was required for two patients during follow-up in the conservative group, wherein one underwent a stent placement three months after discharge because of progression of symptoms and extension of dissection, and the other required intervention one month after discharge because of symptomatic progression. No secondary intervention was required in the endovascular group. Occasional and mild relapse of symptoms occurred in two patients in both the conservative and endovascular groups, with no secondary intervention. The length of dissection (25.5 ± 11.8 mm vs. 19.1 ± 7.4 mm, P = 0.022) and complete remodeling rate (85.7% vs. 15.4%, P < 0.001) in the endovascular group were greater than that in the conservative group.

Conclusion

Patients with symptomatic SICAD who were selectively treated with conservative treatment or endovascular treatment had satisfactory early and medium-term outcomes. Endovascular treatment showed significant advantages in the complete remodeling of the celiac artery and presented with a lower rate of secondary intervention. Moreover, it was found to be a safe and effective remedy for failed conservative treatment.

Current status of spontaneous isolated celiac artery dissection

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to evaluate the current status of spontaneous isolated celiac artery dissection (SICAD).

METHODS

The English-language literature published in various databases before December 2020 was reviewed. All case reports and series were included. If multiple reports came from the same hospital and covered the same period, only the most recent report was considered. The clinical characteristics, imaging features, and treatment outcome were analyzed.

RESULTS

The study enrolled 88 English language publications between January 1959 and December 2020, including 70 case reports, two case series, and 16 clinical studies. Overall, 316 cases of SICAD were reported in the studies, including 268 men and 44 women (unavailable for 4, men: women ratio: 6:1, p < 0.05). The median age was 50.5 years (range: 6-72) in men and 53.9 years (range: 41-67) in women. Most patients (83.54%, 264/316) complained about stomach pain, primarily in the epigastric region (38.61%, 122/316). The misdiagnosis rate in this study was 3.16% (10/316). The most commonly used imaging modality was computed tomography angiography (CTA), with 97.47% (308/316) cases reporting its use in diagnosis and/or management. The rate of symptom improvement with Conservative Management, with or without antithrombotic agents, was 92.45% (98/106) and 96.58% (141/146), respectively. The rate of symptom improvement after surgical recanalization was 100% (13/13). Moreover, endovascular management resulted in a 100% (50/50) symptom improvement rate.

CONCLUSION

Conservative management is the first-line treatment for SICAD. The surgical or endovascular intervention had a high technical success rate, suggesting that it should be reserved for patients who have failed conservative treatment.

Endovascular embolization of spontaneous rupture of isolated splenic artery dissection associated with hemosuccus pancreaticus: a case report

Background

Isolated splenic artery dissection (SAD) is extremely rare, life-threatening, and particularly difficult to diagnose. Moreover, SAD presenting as digestive hemorrhage has not been reported.

Case presentation

A 44-year-old man presented with recurrent life-threatening hematochezia. Magnetic resonance and computed tomographic angiography showed isolated SAD with an intrapancreatic hematoma. Selective angiography confirmed the diagnosis of rupture of SAD. Hemosuccus pancreaticus was considered the potential mechanism of digestive hemorrhage. It was successfully managed by endovascular coil embolization.

Conclusions

Isolated SAD is especially rare but fatal. Rupture of SAD should be considered in the differential diagnosis as a rare cause of digestive hemorrhage. Endovascular coil embolization is effective in treating ruptured SAD.

Management of Spontaneous Isolated Mesenteric Artery Dissection: A Systematic Review

Background and Aims:

There are increasing reports on case series on spontaneous isolated mesenteric artery dissection, that is, dissections of the superior mesenteric artery and celiac artery, mainly due to improved diagnostic capacity of high-resolution computed tomography angiography performed around the clock. A few case–control studies are now available, while randomized controlled trials are awaited.

Material and Methods:

The present systematic review based on 97 original studies offers a comprehensive overview on risk factors, management, conservative therapy, morphological modeling of dissection, and prognosis.

Results and Conclusions:

Male gender, hypertension, and smoking are risk factors for isolated mesenteric artery dissection, while the frequency of diabetes mellitus is reported to be low. Large aortomesenteric angle has also been considered to be a factor for superior mesenteric artery dissection. The overwhelming majority of patients can be conservatively treated without the need of endovascular or open operations. Conservative therapy consists of blood pressure lowering therapy, analgesics, and initial bowel rest, whereas there is no support for antithrombotic agents. Complete remodeling of the dissection after conservative therapy was found in 43% at mid-term follow-up. One absolute indication for surgery and endovascular stenting of the superior mesenteric artery is development of peritonitis due to bowel infarction, which occurs in 2.1% of superior mesenteric artery dissections and none in celiac artery dissections. The most documented end-organ infarction in celiac artery dissections is splenic infarctions, which occurs in 11.2%, and is a condition that should be treated conservatively. The frequency of ruptured pseudoaneurysm in the superior mesenteric artery and celiac artery dissection is very rare, 0.4%, and none of these patients were in shock at presentation. Endovascular therapy with covered stents should be considered in these patients.

Clinical features and management strategy of symptomatic spontaneous isolated celiac artery dissection

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical features and management strategy for patients with symptomatic spontaneous isolated celiac artery dissection (SICAD).

METHODS

In this retrospective study, consecutive patients with symptomatic SICAD from two institutions were included. The demographics, clinical manifestations, comorbidities, imaging findings and treatment strategy selection were obtained from the medical records. The general epidemiological data, treatment regimens and clinical and follow-up outcomes were analysed.

RESULTS

Patients were divided into the conservative treatment group (group A, n = 26) and endovascular treatment group (group B, n = 11). Of these 37 patients, extent of dissection in both groups included only celiac trunk (61.54%% vs. 18.18%, p = 0.03), common hepatic artery (CHA) and splenic artery (SA) (3.85%% vs. 54.55%, p = 0.001), CHA (7.69% vs. 18.18%, p = 0.57), SA (23.08% vs. 9.09, p = 0.65) and left gastric artery (LGA) (3.85% vs. 54.55%, p = 0.99). Of note, the extension of the lesion in group A was shorter than that in group B. In addition, there were significantly more type IIb in group A than in group B (42.31% vs. 9.09%, p = 0.06) and the mean length of dissection in group A was 42.3 ± 54.71 mm which was significantly shorter than that in the group B 58.45 ± 3.71 mm (p =0.04). During a median follow-up of 11.5 months, the 1, 3, 6 and 12 month follow-ups were completed in 100% (37/37), 100% (37/37), 94.59% (35/37) and 91.19% (34/37) of patients, respectively. The cumulative rate of persistent disease stability in patients with endovascular treatment group was higher than in that conservative treatment group at the 3, 6, 9 and 12 months (50% vs. 16.67%, p = 0.001; 80% vs. 37.5%, p =0.03; 100% vs. 62.5%, p = 0.012;100% vs. 91.67%, p = 0.02 respectively).

CONCLUSION

Most symptomatic SICAD have a tendency to persistent disease stability after conservative treatment. Risk factors for failed conservative treatment were length of dissection and branch involvement. Furthermore, endovascular treatment was associated with a high technical success and persistent disease stability rate, which might be reserved for patients with failed conservative treatment.

Clinical Manifestations of Symptomatic Spontaneous Dissection of the Celiac and Superior Mesenteric Arteries

Purpose

Spontaneous isolated dissection of the celiac artery (SID-CA) and superior mesenteric artery (SID-SMA) are rare vascular diseases with similar presentation, yet comparative studies have not been reported. In this study, we compared their characteristics with the aim of providing insights into their etiology.

Methods

Materials and Patients diagnosed with symptomatic SID-CA and SID-SMA between July 2009 and December 2018 were included. Demographics, clinical presentation, radiologic findings, treatment strategies, and outcomes were analyzed.

Results

Twenty-one patients with SID-CA and 40 patients with SID-SMA were compared. Demographics and initial abdominal pain characteristics were similar, but pain severity was significantly higher and associated mean fasting time was significantly longer in patients with SID-CA than in those with SID-SMA (fasting time 3.2 vs 2.1 days, P=0.001). Most patients were successfully treated conservatively without recurrent pain or aneurysmal dilatation, but 33.3% patients with SID-CA and 17.5% with SID-SMA required endovascular intervention. More favorable remodeling in terms of dissection regression on follow-up computed tomography was found after stenting, where patients with SID-CA showed better remodeling than those with SID-SMA. The overall median follow-up period was 22-31 months, while for patients with stent insertion, it was 55-77 months, and no stent occlusions were found during this period.

Conclusion

Patients with SID-CA presented with severer and longer-duration abdominal pain than those with SID-SMA. Stenting in both groups showed good long-term patency and favorable remodeling, with a higher regression rate for SID-CA. Based on our results, patients with SID-CA may benefit more from active endovascular intervention.