Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm in Northumberland.
A study was carried out to examine the feasibility of setting up a community-based screening programme for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in men aged 65-79 years served by a district general hospital. A pilot project was run in two general practices from which 800 men were invited to undergo ultrasonography of the abdominal aorta. Of these, 628 (78.5 per cent) attended; 42 (6.7 per cent) were found to have an aneurysm (aortic diameter greater than 29 mm), ten (1.6 per cent) had a large aneurysm (diameter above 49 mm) and seven (1.1 per cent) received aortic grafts. On the basis of these findings it was felt that to screen all men aged 65-79 years (n = 12,800) or aged 65-74 years (n = 10,300) would lead to more operations than local facilities could handle. A more practical option would be to target annually men aged 65 years, with rescreening at intervals of 5 years until age 75 years, but even this would eventually lead to an unmanageable number of operations.
Holdsworth
J D
JD
Department of Surgery, Wansbeck General Hospital, Ashington, Northumberland, UK.
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004739:England; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000523:psychology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010865:Pilot Projects; D014463:Ultrasonography