Temperature and abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture: A myth or reality

Abstract

IntroductionVarious studies have suggested seasonal and monthly atmospheric pressure correlation to Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) rupture frequencies. However, such correlation to monthly/seasonal temperature and its alteration has never been studied directly. The objective of this study is to demonstrate whether temperature and its alteration are indeed associated with incidences of infra-renal AAA rupture. Patients and methodsA total of 50 (n=50) ruptured AAA over a 5-year period were recruited. Local meteorological data on temperature were obtained from UK Meteorological Office. ResultsThe p value (<0.1) (Student's t-test) was insignificant for temperature difference (mean=0.58°C; range, −4.6 to 3.8°C; 95% CI±°0.72), no correlation was identified between mean monthly/seasonal temperature and mean monthly/seasonal rupture incidence (Pearson) (n=12; r=0.075; p<0.81; rsq=0.0057) (n=4; r=−0.188; p<0.8118; rsq=0.0354). ConclusionThe findings appear to confirm that temperature alteration on monthly/seasonal basis has no impact on AAA rupture incidences.