Editor's Choice - Self-referral to the NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Programme

Area of Science:

• Vascular Surgery
• Public Health Screening
• Epidemiology

Background:

• The NHS Abdominal Aortic Screening Programme (NAAASP) invites 65-year-old men for screening.
• Self-referral is an option for men over 65, but this group is less studied.
• Understanding self-referral patterns is crucial for optimizing screening outreach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a descriptive analysis of men who self-referred to the NAAASP.
• To compare the abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) detection rates in self-referred men versus the invited cohort.

Main Methods:

• Data collected included demographics, ultrasound results, smoking status, blood pressure, and medication use.
• Information was recorded on the AAA SMaRT database.
• Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (version 20).

Main Results:

• 58,999 men self-referred, with a mean age of 73.
• The AAA incidence in self-referred men was 4.1%, significantly higher than the 1.4% in the invited cohort.
• Of those diagnosed with AAA, 81.7% underwent surgery, with a 0% 30-day mortality for elective treatment.

Conclusions:

• Self-referral to AAA screening yields higher detection rates, proving cost-effective.
• Ongoing media campaigns are vital to encourage at-risk men over 65 to utilize the screening program.
• Further research is needed to address remaining aspects of the self-referral pathway.