Investigations

• CT thorax ^a
• transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) ^a  

Why?

Abnormal CT and transthoracic echocardiography make aortic dissection more likely, but cannot safely exclude it

Patient	Target Disorder and Reference Standard	Diagnostic Test	LR+ (95% CI)	Post-test Probability	LR- (95% CI)	Post-test Probability
suspected aortic dissection a (pre-test probability: 55%)	aortic dissection (aortography, surgery, or autopsy)	CT thorax	7.3 (2.9 to 18)	90%	0.071 (0.023 to 0.22)	8%
		transthoracic echocardiography	4.2 (2.1 to 8.6)	84%	0.030 (0.004 to 0.20)	4%