Impact of the first 5 years of a national abdominal aortic aneurysm screening programme

BackgroundThe Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening Programme was introduced by the National Health Service (NHS) in England to reduce the rate of death from ruptured AAA in men. The programme commenced in 2009 and was implemented completely across the country in April 2013. The aim was to review the first 5 years of the programme, looking specifically at compliance and early outcome. MethodsMen aged 65 years were invited for a single abdominal ultrasound scan. Data were entered into a bespoke database (AAA SMaRT). This was a planned analysis after the first 5 years of the programme. ResultsThe summation analysis involved the first 700000 men screened, and the first 1000 men with a large AAA referred for possible treatment. The prevalence of AAA (aortic diameter larger than 29cm) in 65-year-old men was 134 per cent. Mean uptake was 781 per cent, but varied from 617 to 858 per cent across the country. Based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation, uptake was 651 per cent in the most deprived versus 841 per cent in the least deprived areas. Of the first 1000 men referred for possible treatment of a large AAA (greater than 54cm), the false-positive rate was 32 per cent. Some 870 men underwent a planned AAA intervention (non-intervention rate 92 per cent), with seven deaths (perioperative mortality rate 08 per cent). ConclusionThe processes in the NHS AAA Screening Programme are effective in detecting and treating men with AAA.