POSITIVE PREDICTIVE VALUE OF CLINICAL SUSPICION FOR ABDOMINAL AORTIC-ANEURYSM - IMPLICATIONS FOR USE OF ULTRASONOGRAPHY

To measure the positive predictive value (PPV) of clinical suspicion o f abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), as confirmed by ultrasonography, we reviewed the records of 343 patients at a university medical center r eferred to ultrasonography for newly suspected AAA. Positive predictiv e value was 11.1% for large aneurysms of at least 5.0 cm and 18.7% for aneurysms of at least 3.5 cm, and was higher for men and older patien ts. For patients under 50 years of age, PW was only 2.6%. Ultrasonogra phy for clinically suspected AAA has a low positive predictive yield, particularly for men under age 50 and for women.