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The natural history of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) that measure 3.0 cm to 3.9 cm in diameter is not well understood. Given improvements in surgical and endovascular technologies, there may be a tendency to recommend intervention for such small AAAs. In this observational study from 5 U.S. VA centers, researchers identified 1445 men with AAAs of 3.0 to 3.9 cm and present data from 790 (mean age, 69) who had at least 1 ultrasound scan more than 90 days after initial screening. Mean follow-up was nearly 4 years.
At baseline, mean aneurysm size was 3.3 cm. The median expansion rate was 0.11 cm/year; the expansion rate was higher for patients with AAAs measuring 3.5 cm to 3.9 cm than for patients with smaller AAAs. Expansion to ≥5.0 cm was …