The characteristics of screened patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm

Background. Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) has not yet been established in Japan. We therefore report the characteristics of a screened population and discuss the implications of screening using ultrasound in J apan. Methods. The subjects in our screening group were composed of 4428 particip ants who were 60 years of age or older. Aneurysm was detected in 16 cases, 15 males and 1 female, the detection rate being 0.4% in total and 0.9% in t he males. We compare the characteristics of screened patients (n=16) with n on-screened patients operated on for abdominal aortic aneurysm (n=166). Results. There were no significant differences in the mean age or in the fe male ratio between the screened and non-screened groups (71 vs 70 y/o, 6% v s 13%, respectively). Solitary iliac aneurysms were significantly (p <0.05) more frequent in the screened than in the non-screened group (19% vs 3%). The size of aneurysm in the screened group was significantly (p <0.05) smal ler compared with the non-screened group. Sixty-three per cent of the scree ned group and only 8% of the non-screened group had an aneurysm less than 4 0 mm in size. Aneurysm was palpable in only 31% of those of the screened gr oup. There were no significant differences between the groups in the freque ncy of arteriosclerotic risk factors such as hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, diabetes mellitus, peripheral vascular disease and smoking habits. Surgical treatment was selected in 7 out of 16 screened patients. The rema ining 9 patients with small-sized abdominal aortic aneurysms have been care fully followed up. Conclusions. Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm using ultrasound is ad visable especially for male participants and for the detection of iliac ane urysms. This screening procedure is useful for early detection because the screened aneurysm is generally small-sized and impalpable.