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USPSTF recommends one-time screening for AAA in older male smokers
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The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has given a B recommendation for one-time screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm using ultrasonography in men aged 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked, according to a draft recommendation statement released by the task force.
The new recommendation was drafted to replace a 2014 USPSTF recommendation.
“Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms and repairing larger ones can prevent a potentially deadly rupture,” Michael J. Barry, MD, medical director of the John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and member of the USPSTF, said in a press release. “The task force found that older men who are current or past smokers benefit most from screening.”
Prevalence of AAA
The current prevalence of AAA in the U.S. is unknown due to low screening rates, and symptoms typically appear only after it has ruptured, according to the draft recommendation statement. The risk for death once an AAA ruptures can be as high as 81%.
The USPSTF found adequate evidence on the safety and accuracy of ultrasonography as a screening test for AAA, whereas moderate evidence was found that there was a moderate benefit in screening for AAA in men aged 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked to reduce the risk for mortality, rupture and emergency surgery related to AAA, according to the draft recommendation statement. There was also adequate evidence on the small to moderate harms of treating these men for AAA.
“The USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that screening for AAA in men ages 65 to 75 years who have ever smoked is of moderate net benefit,” according to the draft recommendation statement.
The task force gave a C recommendation for selective AAA screening in men aged 65 to 75 years who have never smoked based on the patient’s situation. As the net benefit of screening all men is small, clinicians and patients should consider the benefits and risks of AAA screening with ultrasonography based on evidence related to the patient’s family history, medical history, personal values and other risk factors, according to the draft recommendation statement.
Screening women
Women who have never smoked and have no family history should not be routinely screened for AAA with ultrasonography. The USPSTF gave this an I statement due to insufficient evidence on the balance of benefits and harms of AAA screening in women aged 65 to 75 years who have never smoked or have a family history, according to the draft scientific statement.
“Ideally, appropriately powered [randomized controlled trials] among women with risk factors could answer these critical gaps in the evidence on screening for AAA,” according to the draft recommendation statement. “In the absence of new trial data, high-quality, well-calibrated modeling studies based on reliable data on the harms and benefits of screening in women who smoke or in men and women with a family history of AAA may be informative.”
The USPSTF’s draft recommendation statement can be viewed on the task force’s website: www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org. Comments will be accepted until July 15. – by Darlene Dobkowski
Disclosure: Barry is a member of the USPSTF.