Dawaa Reference

chronic

Aortic aneurysm or dissection

Treatment options, dosing, cautions and Egyptian brands from the shipped Dawaa Reference card.

Evidence status

Checked against the sources named below

Sources3 sources

Aortic Dissection - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441963/ · ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class KD99.00 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Verified against2 documents
  • No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
  • Aortic aneurysm or dissection - disease-level clinical article (aortic-aneurysm-or-dissection-clinical.txt)

Verified date2026-08

Presentation reference

Is it this?

Reference only, to read alongside your own examination.

Red flags (2)

  • More than half of ruptures die before reaching the emergency room
  • Larger aneurysms are at higher risk of rupture, and hypertension raises that risk further

Symptoms — what the patient reports (4)

  • Most are asymptomatic and found incidentally during imaging for something unrelated
  • An enlarging aneurysm causes abdominal pain, loin (flank) pain or back pain [abdominal pain · back pain · loin pain]
  • Pressure on neighbouring organs can produce gastrointestinal or renal symptoms
  • Rupture ranges from subtle to dramatic; most present in shock with diffuse abdominal pain and abdominal distension [abdominal distension · abdominal pain · shock]

Signs — what you find (4)

  • Palpating the abdomen usually finds a nontender, pulsatile abdominal mass [abdominal mass]
  • There may be abdominal tenderness over the aneurysm, or signs of embolisation [abdominal tenderness]
  • Rupture into adjacent bowel or vessels can show as gastrointestinal bleeding, or as heart failure from an aortocaval fistula [bleeding · fistula]
  • Examine for other aneurysms: iliac is the commonest, and about 5% have a peripheral one, usually popliteal

Tests (4)

  • Ultrasound makes the diagnosis; CT is preferred once the patient is symptomatic, and maps size, site and which vessels are involved
  • Ultrasound is less accurate above the renal arteries because of overlying lung and bowel gas
  • MR angiography is the option when contrast media are contraindicated
  • An echocardiogram is recommended because associated heart disease is common

If not this — what else fits (3)

  • Mesenteric ischaemia, peptic ulcer disease, diverticulitis, pyelonephritis, myocardial infarction and ureteric colic
  • Risk factors: atherosclerosis (commonest), smoking, older age, male sex, family history, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, prior aortic dissection
  • Incidence rises after age 60 and peaks in the seventh and eighth decades

SourceStatPearls "Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm" (NBK470237) - covers abdominal aortic aneurysm only; this card carries nothing on aortic dissection, for which no source was opened

Presentation findings are traced to the source above.

1

NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (REFERRAL & ADVICE)

1st line
Adult dose and duration

Dissection is a surgical emergency and an unruptured aneurysm needs vascular surgery referral; a GP's role is recognition, blood pressure control if dissection is suspected, and urgent transfer. - Refer, with advice

Paediatric dose

Children follow the same pathway: recognise and refer. No primary-care medicine is implied.

Dose source

No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Why

Dissection is a surgical emergency and an unruptured aneurysm needs vascular surgery referral; a GP's role is recognition, blood pressure control if dissection is suspected, and urgent transfer.

Cautions
  • Sudden tearing chest or back pain, unequal pulses or blood pressure between limbs, hypotension or shock, pulsatile abdominal mass.
  • No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.
  • RED FLAG - Ruptured aortic aneurysm is a lethal emergency with >50% pre-hospital mortality requiring immediate emergency surgical transfer.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.