Popliteal Aneurysms are Common Among Men With Screening Detected Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms, and the Prevalence is Correlated With the Diameters of the Common Iliac Arteries

Abstract

Introduction: Popliteal artery aneurysms (PA) are uncommon, but complications are often severe. Data on prevalence is scarce and difficult to interpret as the definition differs between papers. The aim was to investigate the prevalence among men with screening detected AAA and to explore if the prevalence of PA correlated with the diameters of the aorta, iliac and femoral arteries. Methods: In a county with 320 000 inhabitants, screening of 65 year old men was initiated in 2006. All men with AAA (≥30mm) and sub-aneurysmal aortic dilatation (25-29 mm, SAA) had measurements of the common iliac (CIA), common femoral (CFA), superficial femoral (SFA), and popliteal arteries at re-examination, performed after 1-2 years for AAA and 5 years for SAA. PA was defined as ≥12mm, or 1.5 times larger than the distal SFA according to the ISCVS/SVS Ad Hoc Committee. The relationships between PA and vessel diameters were explored. Results: 19,820 sixty-five year old men (84.6 %) accepted the invitation to screening 2006-2017. The number of AAA found was 173 (0.9%) and the number with SAA was 205 (1.0%). Of the SAA, 149 subjects (1.1% of those screened 2006-2013), were eligible for this study, having had time for the re-examination of the peripheral vessels. There was a higher prevalence of iliac aneurysms in those with AAA, 14.0% compared to, SAA 4.5%, p=0.009. There was no difference in prevalence of PA: 15.9% versus 12.2%, p=0.483. There was no correlation between popliteal artery and aortic diameters (p=0.717), but significant correlations with CIA (p< 0.001), CFA (p< 0.001) and SFA (p< 0.001) diameters. Conclusion: A high prevalence of PA among subjects with screening detected AAA and SAA was found. The presence of PA was not correlated to the aortic diameter in this cohort, where all had dilated aortas, while a strong correlation to the maximum iliac artery diameter was identified. There is a need for a consensus definition of PA, and follow-up studies to see how this correlates to future growth and future need of surgery, since most of the identified PAs were small. Disclosure: Nothing to disclose