ACEP Clinical Policy — Thoracic Aortic Dissection in the ED (2014)

The ACEP 2014 Clinical Policy on evaluation and management of suspected thoracic aortic dissection in the emergency department provides evidence-based guidance for recognizing this time-critical emergency, risk stratification using the Aortic Dissection Detection Risk Score (ADD-RS), appropriate imaging strategies, and initial medical management. Thoracic aortic dissection (TAD) represents one of emergency medicine's most lethal diagnostic traps — with mortality increasing 1–2% per hour from Type A (ascending) dissection and devastating consequences from missed diagnosis.