The diagnosis of thoracic aortic dissection by noninvasive imaging procedures.

This study was designed to assess the safety and reliability of new noninvasive imaging methods as compared with aortography in the diagnosis of dissection of the thoracic aorta. One hundred ten patients with clinically suspected aortic dissection followed a diagnostic protocol that included transthoracic and transesophageal color-flow Doppler echocardiography (TTE and TEE), contrast-enhanced x-ray computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Imaging results were compared in a blinded fashion and validated independently against intraoperative findings in 62 patients, autopsy findings in 7, and the results of contrast angiography in 64.