Eisenberg M J, Geraci S J, Schiller N B
Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco 94143, USA.
Am Heart J. 1995 Jul;130(1):109-15. doi: 10.1016/0002-8703(95)90244-9.
Patients undergoing transthoracic echocardiography often have atherosclerotic vascular disease and may be at risk for the development of abdominal aortic aneurysms. We therefore examined the abdominal aorta by ultrasound in 323 consecutive patients undergoing routine two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography over a 6-month period. Measurements were made of aortic length (diaphragm to most caudal portion visualized) and maximum diameter. The study group comprised 169 men and 154 women with an average age of 57 +/- 19 years (range 13 to 94). The abdominal aorta was imaged in 265 (82%) patients. The average aortic length visualized was 13.0 +/- 4.6 cm, the average diameter 1.7 +/- 0.4 cm, and the time required for screening < 5 minutes. Seven (3%) patients were identified as having abdominal aortas > or = 2.5 cm in diameter: 1 with an aneurysm measuring 6.7 cm in diameter and 6 with mild dilatations measuring 2.5 to 3.0 cm in diameter. One of the patients with mild aortic dilatation was subsequently found to have an infrarenal aneurysm measuring 3.5 cm in diameter. Aortic dilatation was associated with male gender (p = 0.0006) and older age (p = 0.05) but was not associated with a history of ischemic heart disease (p = 0.16). From these results, we conclude that screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms in patients undergoing transthoracic echocardiography is practical and clinically useful. Only a small number of these patients are identified as having aneurysms, but the low cost and brief time required suggest that routine screening in this population may be worthwhile.
接受经胸超声心动图检查的患者常患有动脉粥样硬化性血管疾病，可能有发生腹主动脉瘤的风险。因此，我们在6个月期间对323例连续接受常规二维经胸超声心动图检查的患者进行了腹部主动脉超声检查。测量了主动脉长度（从膈肌至可见的最尾端部分）和最大直径。研究组包括169名男性和154名女性，平均年龄为57±19岁（范围13至94岁）。265例（82%）患者的腹部主动脉得到成像。可见的主动脉平均长度为13.0±4.6厘米，平均直径为1.7±0.4厘米，筛查所需时间<5分钟。7例（3%）患者被确定为腹主动脉直径≥2.5厘米：1例患有直径6.7厘米的动脉瘤，6例有直径2.5至3.0厘米的轻度扩张。1例主动脉轻度扩张的患者随后被发现患有直径3.5厘米的肾下腹主动脉瘤。主动脉扩张与男性性别（p = 0.0006）和年龄较大（p = 0.05）有关，但与缺血性心脏病史无关（p = 0.16）。根据这些结果，我们得出结论，对接受经胸超声心动图检查的患者进行腹主动脉瘤筛查是切实可行且具有临床实用价值的。这些患者中只有少数被确定患有动脉瘤，但低成本和所需的短时间表明在该人群中进行常规筛查可能是值得的。
