Occult mediastinal great vessel trauma: the value of aortography performed during angiographic screening for blunt cervical vascular trauma

To determine the value of aortography in the assessment of occult aortic and great vessel injuries when routinely performed during screening angiography for blunt cerebrovascular injury (BCVI). One hundred and one consecutive patients who received both aortography and screening four-vessel angiography over 4 years were identified retrospectively. Angiograms for these patients were evaluated, and the incidence of occult mediastinal vascular injury was determined. Of the 101 patients, 6 (6%) had angiographically documented traumatic aortic injuries. Of these 6 patients, one injury (17%) was unsuspected prior to angiography. Four of the 6 (67%) also had BCVI. One additional patient also had an injury to a branch of the subclavian artery. Routine aortography during screening angiography for BCVI is not warranted due to the low incidence (1%) of occult mediastinal arterial injury. However, in the setting of a BCVI screening study and no CT scan of the chest, aortography may be advantageous.