Why the study?
Most men screening positive have an AAA below the 5.5 cm treatment referral threshold and enter surveillance, but their risk of rupture remained to be determined.
What is the risk of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm in men with small and medium AAAs under ultrasound surveillance?
Population
18 652 men with small (3-4.4 cm) or medium (4.5-5.4 cm) AAA in the NHS screening programme
Comparison
Small (3-4.4 cm) vs medium (4.5-5.4 cm) AAA under ultrasound surveillance
Design
Cohort study
Follow-up
50 103 person-years
Key result
Ultrasound surveillance of men with small and medium abdominal aortic aneurysms showed a low ruptured AAA risk of 0.03% per annum for small AAAs and 0.28% per annum for medium AAAs.
Authors
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Low rupture rates support current thresholds for men with small/medium AAAs; leaves open optimal surveillance intervals.
Cohort (n=18,652)
Yes
What is the risk of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm in men with small and medium AAAs under ultrasound surveillance?
Men with small and medium screen-detected AAAs have a very low risk of rupture (<0.5% per annum) under intensive surveillance, supporting the safety of the current referral threshold of 5.5 cm.
Oliver‐Williams et al. (2019) conducted a cohort in Abdominal aortic aneurysm (n=18,652). Ultrasound surveillance was evaluated on Ruptured AAA (rAAA). Ultrasound surveillance of men with small and medium abdominal aortic aneurysms showed a low ruptured AAA risk of 0.03% per annum for small AAAs and 0.28% per annum for medium AAAs.