The ratio of superior mesenteric artery diameter to superior mesenteric vein diameter based on non-enhanced computed tomography in the early diagnosis of spontaneous isolated superior mesenteric artery dissection

Spontaneous isolated superior mesenteric artery (SMA) dissection (SISMAD) is a rare cause of abdominal pain. The aim of the study is to investigate the role of a new parameter, the ratio of the SMA diameter to the superior mesenteric vein (SMV) diameter (SMA/SMV) based on non-enhanced computed tomography (CT), in the early diagnosis of SISMAD. In a registry study from December 2013 to June 2021, 97 abdominal pain SISMAD patients (SISMAD group) admitted to our hospital were enrolled. Meanwhile, the matched sex and age abdominal pain non-SISMAD patients at 1:2 were collected in reverse chronological order as the control group. Student's -test, Wilcoxon rank-sum test, and Chi-square test were used to compare differences between the SISMAD and control groups. MedCalc was used to generate receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. A total of 291 abdominal pain patients, including 97 SISMAD patients and 194 non-SISMAD patients, were included in the current study. The maximum SMA diameter, perivascular exudation, and SMA/SMV based on non-enhanced CT were significant between the two groups (all