title: An 81 Year Old with Back Pain.
abstract: You see an 81-year-old man in the emergency department. He has been troubled by abdominal and back pain that has been worsening over the last two days. He has smoked 20 cigarettes a day for the last 60 years. On examination his heart rate is 110 beats per minute and his blood pressure is 130/80 mmhg. He is tender over the central abdomen and you feel a pulsatile mass above the umbilicus. You request a CT scan of the abdomen.
authors.affiliation: Broomfield Hospital, Essex.
authors.forename: Sukhpreet S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Dubb
authors.affiliation: Imperial College London.
authors.forename: Joanna M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Farrant
authors.affiliation: Royal Free Hospital London.
authors.forename: B V
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Praveen
authors.affiliation: Southend Hospital, Essex.
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miles-Dua
keywords: Acute abdomen; Aneurysm; CT scan; Shock