Spontaneous celiac artery dissection

Abstract

Background: Spontaneous celiac artery dissection is a rare visceral artery dissection that typically presents with acute abdominal or flank pain.

Case report: We describe a case of a 54-year old previously healthy male who presented to the Emergency Department with subacute back pain and was found to have a spontaneous celiac artery dissection. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Emergency medicine physicians frequently consider acute aortic dissection in patients presenting to the Emergency Department with acute chest, back, and/or upper abdominal pain. Less commonly thought of are variations of arterial dissection, including those involving the celiac artery. Given readily available diagnostic imaging modalities and therapeutic interventions, it remains important to consider visceral arterial dissection, and to recognize the varied clinical manifestations of this rare clinical entity.