The Effect of Serum Lactate Level and Shock Index on Morbidity and Mortality in Aortic Dissection and Aneurysm

Objective: Acute aortic dissections and aneurysms are vascular emergencies and have high mortality rates. Since early diagnosis is valuable in terms of mortality and prognosis, the effects of shock index (SI) and lactate levels on mortality and prognosis in patients with aortic dissection or aneurysm were investigated.
Material and Methods: The study was conducted by retrospectively examining 71 patients older than 18 years, who were diagnosed with aortic dissection or aneurysm, who applied to the emergency department between January 01, 2015, and December 31, 2020. The patients were divided into two groups in terms of dissection and aneurysm. Three groups were defined for dissections and two groups for aneurysms. Age, gender, lactate level, SI, and mortality of the patients were evaluated.
Results: The mean age of the 71 patients included in the study was 62.08±13.80 years, 15 (21.1%) were female, and the age range was 32-94 years. Lactate levels of aortic dissection and abdominal aneurysm cases were 3.22±2.09 mmol/L and 1.90±1.51 mmol/L, respectively (p=0.004). The mean shock indices of patients with aortic dissection and aneurysms were 0.71±0.18 and 0.63±0.15, respectively (p=0.018). While 19 (54.2%) of 35 cases with aortic dissection survived, 16 (45.8%) died. While 30 (83.3%) of the aortic aneurysm cases survived, 6 (25%) died (p=0.008).
Conclusion: SI and serum lactate levels may be prognostic values in terms of morbidity and mortality in aortic dissection and/or aortic aneurysm.

Keywords: Emergency department, aortic dissection, aortic aneurysm, SI, serum lactate level