Background: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and clinical utility of the acute aortic dissection detection risk score (ADD-RS) alone or with D-dimer as a screening test to exclude acute aortic syndrome. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the diagnostic accuracy of ADD-RS. We searched MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials up to 12 December 2018. Results: We identified nine studies involving 26,598 patients for ADD-RS alone and 3421 patients with D-dimer. Overall, the methodological quality based on the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 was moderate to high. Bivariate meta-analyses showed that the pooled sensitivities were 0.94 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.90, 0.96) at the threshold of ADD-RS ≥1, 0.46 (95% CI, 0.34, 0.59) at ADD-RS ≥2, 1.00 (95% CI 0.99, 1.00) at ADD-RS ≥1 with D-dimer and 0.99 (95% CI 0.97, 1.00) at ADD-RS ≥2 with D-dimer. For the low prevalence population, failure rate and efficiency were 0.8% and 38.3% at ADD-RS ≥1, 0.03% and 14.5% at ADD-RS ≥1 with D-dimer, and 0.1% and 33.6% at ADD-RS ≥2 with D-dimer, respectively. For the high prevalence population, failure rate and efficiency were 3.8% and 33.3% at ADD-RS ≥1, 0.2% and 12.3% at ADD-RS ≥1 with D-dimer and 0.6% and 28.4% at ADD-RS ≥2 with D-dimer, respectively. Conclusions: ADD-RS alone or with D-dimer was a useful screening test with high sensitivity to exclude acute aortic syndrome. However, the optimal threshold of ADD-RS alone or with D-dimer may depend on the clinical setting.
Response by Morello et al to Letters Regarding Article, “Diagnostic Accuracy of the Aortic Dissection Detection Risk Score Plus D–Dimer for Acute Aortic Syndromes: The ADvISED Prospective Multicenter Study”
