title: Reduction of small infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm expansion rate by statins.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To evaluate the effect of statins on the annual expansion rate (ER) of small infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA).
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients under regular surveillance for small AAA between January 2000 and September 2007, in the Department of Angiology, Lausanne University Hospital, were included. Inclusion criteria were baseline abdominal aortic diameter between 25 and 55 mm, at least two measurements of AAA diameter and a minimum follow up of 6 months. Patients with Marfan disease, infectious or inflammatory AAA, and patients with prior AAA repair were excluded. The influence of statin use and other factors on ER were examined by bivariate and multivariate analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 589 patients who underwent an abdominal aorta evaluation, 94 patients (89 % men, mean age 69.1 years) were finally included in the analysis. Baseline AAA size was 39.9 ± 7.7 mm (mean±SE) and 48.7 ± 8.4 mm at end of follow-up. Patients had a regular aneurysm size assessment during 38.5 ± 27.7 months. Mean ER was 3.59 mm/y (± 2.81). The 50 patients who were treated with statin during the study period had a lower ER compared to the 44 controls (2.91 vs 4.37 mm/year, p = 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study confirms the considerable individual variations in the AAA expansion rate, and emphasizes the need for regular aortic diameter assessments. In this study, patients treated with statin demonstrate a significant decrease in the ER compared to controls. This finding need to be evaluated in prospective interventional studies powered to demonstrate the potential benefit of statin treatment.
authors.affiliation: Hôpital cantonal Fribourg, Switzerland. periardd@h-fr.ch
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Periard
authors.forename: Idris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Guessous
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mazzolai
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haesler
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Monney
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hayoz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects*; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001027:Aortography / Q000379:methods; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013557:Switzerland; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors