Gender based differences in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) rupture : A
retrospective study
Abstract
Introduction: Annually, 5% of sudden deaths are due to Abdominal Aortic
Aneurysm (AAA) rupture. AAA ruptures have worse outcomes in females than
males and occur at a smaller size in females. USPSTF recommends a
one-time ultrasound screening for males aged 65-75 years who ever
smoked. There is insufficient evidence to screen females aged 65-75
years who ever smoked in-spite of the available evidence. The objective
of this study is to compare the characters, mortality and morbidity of
ruptured AAAs in females and males. Methods: This is a retrospective
review of 117 patients from two teaching institutions over a period of
six years. A total of 39 parameters were compared between males and
females including demographic characters, co-morbidities like
hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases;
previous history of AAA; medications, characters of aneurysm, type of
surgery and its outcome; post-operative complications and long term
survival. Results: The incidence of AAA rupture was higher in males
(68%) than in females (32%). Females had a later age of death from AAA
rupture. There was a significant difference in the size of AAA rupture
between females (mean=7.4 cm) and males (mean=8.2 cm); p = 0.04. The
probability to undergo surgery for ruptured AAA was significantly lower
for females as compared to males (p=0.03). Females had higher overall
mortality (p=0.001) and post-operative mortality after surgical repair
(p=0.02) from AAA. Female gender was an independent predictor of higher
length of ICU stay, incidence of postoperative complications, use of
vasopressors and use of ventilator. Conclusion: Using a similar
threshold of size of AAA for elective surgery for both males and females
might not be appropriate. AAA screening might be warranted for high risk
females owing to the higher morbidity and mortality.