Outcome of surgery >> Unruptured aneurysms

Figure 15. Outcome in unruptured emergency open cases (including palliative patients) by size of vascular unit n=98/101. Percentages refer to patients who died within 30 days.

There was a difference in outcome associated with undergoing surgery at a large vascular unit compared with an intermediate vascular unit (Figure 15). This is an unexpected finding. The numbers were small. Further investigations of the management of unruptured AAAs admitted as emergencies would be helpful to determine if this phenomenon is sustained in other studies,
and if so, the cause.

Transfer policies may also have an influence on figures for the survival of emergency AAA patients.