Background:
Acute Aortic Dissection (AAD) associated with cocaine use is a rare event for which only limited case reports and small cohort studies are available. This study compares demographics, history, presenting symptoms and in-hospital outcomes among AAD patients with a history of cocaine use (C+) to those of patients without a history of cocaine use (C-) in a large international registry.
Methods:
Our study analyzed 3584 patients enrolled in the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection from 1996 to 2012. We divided the population based on documented cocaine use and further stratified patients into Type A (33 C+/2332, 1.4%) and Type B (30 C+/1252, 2.4%) dissection cohorts.
Results:
C+ patients presented at a younger age and were more likely to be male and black for both Type A and B dissections. Type B dissection was more common among C+ patients than in C- patients. Cocaine-related AAD was reported more often at US sites compared to European sites (86.4% 51/63 v. 13.6% 8/63, p<0.001). Tobacco use was more prevalent in the C+ cohort. No differences were seen in history of hypertension, known atherosclerosis or time from symptom onset to presentation between cohorts. Type B C+ patients were more likely to be hypertensive at presentation. Both Type A and Type B C+ cohorts had significantly smaller ascending aortic diameters than C- patients. Acute renal failure was more common in Type A C+ patients but mortality was significantly lower in Type A C+ patients vs type C- patients for reasons than could not be identified from the data base.
Conclusions:
Cocaine abuse is implicated in approximately 2% of patients with acute aortic dissection. The typical patient is a relatively young male cigarette smoker, who like the majority of patients with AAD, has a history of hypertension. In hospital mortality for cocaine-related Type A dissection is lower than that seen with non-cocaine related type A dissection. The combination of tobacco use, cocaine use, and hypertension may predispose patients to AAD who may otherwise have little risk for the condition.
Letter by Benedetto et al Regarding Article, “Importance of Refractory Pain and Hypertension in Acute Type B Aortic Dissection: Insights From the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection (IRAD)”