Thresholds for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair in England and the United States
Authors' conclusion
We found a lower rate of repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms and a larger mean aneurysm diameter at the time of repair in England than in the United States and lower rates of aneurysm rupture and aneurysm-related death in the United States than in England.
Study context
- Population
- Patients undergoing repair of intact AAA, England and US, 2005–2012
- Participants
- 29,300 vs 278,921
- Exposure
- England vs US
- Englandn = 29,300
- USn = 278,921reference
- Outcome
- Frequency of AAA repair, mean aneurysm diameter at repair, rates of aneurysm rupture and aneurysm-related death
- Follow-up
- 2005–2012
Methodological detailspopulation-based, age- and sex-adjusted (direct standardization or conditional logistic regression)
- Population-based
- Age- and sex-adjusted (direct standardization or conditional logistic regression)
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
England vs USOdds ratio (95% CI)P value
AAA repair
0.49(0.48–0.49)
P < 0.001Aneurysm-related death
3.60(3.55–3.64)
P < 0.001Hospitalization due to aneurysm rupture
2.23(2.19–2.27)
P < 0.001Observational data: associations, not effects.
Original publication
Thresholds for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair in England and the United States. N Engl J Med. Published 24 November 2016. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it