A systematic review of short-term vs long-term effectiveness of one-time abdominal aortic aneurysm screening in men with ultrasound

Population-based one-time screening for AAA with ultrasound in asymptomatic men aged 65 years and older remains beneficial during the longer term after screening has ceased, with significant reductions in AAA mortality and AAA rupture rate, and hence avoids unnecessary AAA-related deaths. The sensitivity analyses also showed that the benefits of AAA screening were more pronounced in men at a mean age of <70 years with a relatively lower prevalence of AAA than in men at a mean age of >70 years with a relatively higher prevalence of AAA. Future research should explore the long-term benefits of a targeted AAA screening approach based on risk factors such as age, sex, smoking status, family history, aortic diameter, and baseline risk of rupture.