Table 1.
Baseline demographic characteristics of patients.
Fig 1.
CT scan measurements performed in 3Mensio software.
Two images of measurements in 3Mensio in the DTA; A: Center lumen line created for zone 4 (yellow line), with the start of the DTA 2 cm after the LSA up to the celiac trunk; B: Maximum tortuosity angle with two line elements that are defined by three control points over the centerline to measure the tortuosity in degrees.
Fig 2.
The four equal zones of the descending thoracic aorta– 4A to 4D.
Fig 3.
Scatterplot by SPSS software of the maximum tortuosity in degrees.
This scatterplot shows how to divide the normal tortuosity in degrees. Most patients have a maximum tortuosity < 30°, so the cut-off point between low and moderate tortuosity is 30°.
Fig 4.
Three groups of amount of tortuosity.
A: low tortuosity < 30°; B: moderate tortuosity 30° - 60°; C: high tortuosity > 60°.
Fig 5.
Histogram of the type of arch.
A: young vs. old; B: male vs. female.
Fig 6.
Histogram of the maximum tortuosity per zone.
A: young vs. old; B: male vs. female.
Table 2.
Outcome measurements comparing patients young vs. old.
Table 3.
Linear regression model of tortuosity index and maximum tortuosity in relation to age and gender.
Table 4.
Outcome measurements comparing patients male vs. female.