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Definition and management of abdominal aortic aneurysms: results from a Canadian survey
1Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Loeb Medical Research Institute, Ottawa Civic Hospital, Ont.
Objective:
To assess how vascular surgeons define and manage asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) 5.4 cm in diameter or smaller.
Design:
Descriptive survey.
Setting:
All provinces and territories of Canada.
Participants:
One hundred and ninety-one vascular surgeons.
Interventions:
A 12-item questionnaire sent in two mailings to all vascular surgeons who were members of the Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery.
Main Outcome Measures:
Definition and routine management of asymptomatic AAAs assessment of aneurysm size before elective surgery and basic personal data.
Results:
One hundred and sixty-seven (87%) vascular surgeons responded to the mailings; 149 (78%) completed the questionnaire. The majority of respondents were experienced (78%), academic (70%) vascular surgeons. AAAs were defined in any one of four ways. There was notable consistency regarding the size range in which vascular surgeons seriously considered elective surgical repair of small aneurysms.
Conclusion:
Standards need to be developed to define what constitutes a small AAA if meaningful research on small aneurysms is to be conducted.