Has the balance of screening for AAA tipped towards harm?

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are usually asymptomatic until they rupture, which is fatal in more than 80% of cases.

Screening aims to detect the aneurysm before it ruptures, enabling preventive surgery and hence reducing morbidity and mortality. However, preventive surgery has a mortality of 3.9-4.5%.

As the prevalence of risk factors, ie...

Source: The BMJ Podcast - March 6, 2015 Category: General Medicine Authors: BMJ talk medicine Source Type: podcasts