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The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends one-time screening by ultrasonography for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in older men (age range, 65–75) who have ever smoked (JW Gen Med Feb 18 2005). But, is screening in the general population (both smokers and nonsmokers) or repeat screening justified? Using a hypothetical cohort of 100,000 65-year-old men, Danish investigators assessed the cost-effectiveness of no screening, screening once, screening twice (5-year interval), and repeat lifetime screening (every 5 years).
The researchers assumed that large AAAs would be detected without screening (i.e., by physical examination) in 934 per 100,000 men. In contrast, screening once would detect 3115 AAAs per 100,000 men, screening twice wo…