Incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm during diagnostic ultrasound for urologic disease: our experience.

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) is increasing because of increased life expectancy. There are none or few symptoms related to abdominal aortic aneurysm until rupture. After rupture, mortality rates are 60-80%, but with an elective operation.

METHODS

We performed an observational study on 140 consecutive patients of age over 50 years (range 50-82), presented to our clinic to perform a routine ultrasound examination of the urinary tract. We consecutively evaluated in these patients the possible detection of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

RESULTS

Ultrasonography of the abdomen is the test of choice for the detection of the disease, it is an examination of low-cost and non-invasive. It has a high diagnostic sensitivity 80%, in our study (result slightly less than the range reported by the literature 82-99%) and a specificity of 100%.

CONCLUSIONS

Because of its safety, low cost, ease of use, and wide availability, ultrasonography is the most commonly used clinical imaging modality. Ultrasonography is the standard method for screening and monitoring AAAs that have not ruptured. With the advance in 3-dimensional (3D) imaging, 3D ultrasonography has provided a new opportunity to acquire fast and reliable AAA measurements, which can not only shorten the time for a ultrasound exam but also reduce the workload of AAA surveillance.