Optimal Interval Screening and Surveillance of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Abstract

Objectives: to determine safe and optimal intervals of rescreening and surveillance for AAA.Methods: hospital-based mass screening of 6339 65–73-year-old men from 1994–98. 76.4% attended. One hundred and ninety-one (4%) had AAA≥3 cm. Twenty-four (0.5%) were initially >5 cm and referred for surgery, while the rest were offered annual control scans to check for expansion. Later, all 348 (7.5%) men who 3 to 5 years ago had an ectatic aorta (infrarenal aortic diameter of 25–29 mm or distal/renal aortic diameter ratio >1.2) were offered rescreening. Of these, 62 (18%) died before rescanning, while 248 of the survivors attended rescreening (87%). Furthermore, a random sample of 380 of those with non-ectatic aortas were offered rescreening. Of these, 49 (13%) died before rescreening (p=0.06), while 275 (83%) of the survivors attended re-screening.Results: none of the controls had developed AAA. Of those who initially had an 25–29 mm aorta, 29% had developed AAA (size range 30–48 mm) with expansion rates varying from 1.0 to 4.7 mm/year. Only 3.5% with a ratio >1.2 developed AAA (size range: 30–34 mm) with expansion rates from 1.3 to 2.4 mm/year. During the fourth year of surveillance some AAA initially sized below 3.5 cm expanded to above 5 cm, while some sized 3.5–3.9 cm did so during the second year, >4 cm did so during the first year of surveillance. Conclusion: rescreening for AAA can be restricted to initially ectatic aortas sized 25–29 mm at 5-year intervals. Surveillance of small AAA can be restricted to 1–4 year intervals.