Decision analytical modelling of strategies for investigating suspected acute aortic syndrome.

Background: Acute aortic syndrome (AAS) requires urgent diagnosis with computed tomographic angiography (CTA). Diagnostic strategies need to weigh the benefits of detecting AAS against the costs of using CTA with a low yield of AAS when the prevalence of AAS is low. We aimed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of diagnostic strategies using clinical probability scoring and D-dimer to select patients with potential symptoms of AAS for CTA.