Acute Abdominal Aorta and Visceral Vessel Disease

The differential diagnosis of patients presenting with severe abdominal pain and/or shock includes several vascular diseases which most commonly include rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm or, less frequently, of a visceral vessel aneurysm, aortic dissection, iatrogenic injury, and acute mesenteric ischemia. Acute vascular abdomen represents a serious and life-threatening condition, leading to either hemorrhage or arterial occlusion and ischemia. In a stable patient with uncertain diagnosis computed tomography imaging or, as an alternative, magnetic resonance plays a critical role in orienting the clinician; when the patient is unstable instead, after hemodynamic resuscitation the pathway towards surgery must be as fast as possible. Herein we briefly describe the most important clinical and instrumental features, as well as treatment strategies, which could help in the management of such a challenging condition.